Greater Yellowlegs
Tringa melanoleuca
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
- FamilyScolopacidae (Sandpipers and Allies)
- GenusTringa (Shanks, Tattlers, and Allies)
- SpeciesTringa melanoleuca (Greater Yellowlegs)
About the Greater Yellowlegs
The greater yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It breeds in central Canada and southern Alaska and winters in southern North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America.
The greater yellowlegs was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it in the genus Scolopax and coined the binomial name Scolopax melanoleuca. Gmelin based his description on the "stone snipe" seen feeding in autumn in Chateau Bay, Labrador, that had been described in 1785 by both the English ornithologist John Latham and by the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. The greater yellowlegs is now placed in the genus Tringa that was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. The name Tringa is the Neo-Latin word given to the green sandpiper by the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi in 1603 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading bird mentioned by Aristotle. The specific epithet melanoleuca combines the Ancient Greek melas meaning... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Greater Yellowlegs in Katmai National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Katmai National Park
Lesser Yellowlegs
Tringa flavipes
Wandering Tattler
Tringa incana
Solitary Sandpiper
Tringa solitaria
Spotted Sandpiper
Actitis macularius
Wilson's Snipe
Gallinago delicata
Least Sandpiper
Calidris minutilla
Black Turnstone
Arenaria melanocephala
Western Sandpiper
Calidris mauri
Short-billed Dowitcher
Limnodromus griseus
Rock Sandpiper
Calidris ptilocnemis
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus
Red Knot
Calidris canutus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Greater Yellowlegs in Katmai National Park?
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Yellowlegs sighting in Katmai National Park, based on 134 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Greater Yellowlegs in Katmai National Park?
June has the highest sighting rate for Greater Yellowlegs in Katmai National Park in our monthly data.