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Medium-sized shorebird with bright yellow legs.
Not listed
At a glance
FamilySandpipers and Allies
SizeMedium
RarityRare
HabitatTimbered edges, open forest, suburban gardens with mature trees, and lightly wooded scrub.
Best timeMost reliable in New South Wales from September.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Ray Cooke
Range map
Range map
5visible hotspots
111visible records
2states
SparseModerateDense hotspot
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Plumage is essentially identical to Greater Yellowlegs: gray upperparts with white speckling, streaky neck, and white belly. Proportions are most important for identification. Lesser is smaller overall with shorter, narrower, straighter bill, shorter neck, more rounded head, and smaller chest. Somewhat more likely to be found in smaller, marshier habitats than Greater, but much overlap.
Behavior
Forages actively on mudflats and in shallow pools and marshes, often in loose mixed flocks with Greater Yellowlegs. Listen for soft, whistled “tew” calls, typically only one or two notes, unlike the stronger series of notes from Greater.
Gallery