Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderCharadriiformes (Shorebirds and Allies)
FamilyScolopacidae (Sandpipers and Allies)
GenusTringa (Shanks, Tattlers, and Allies)
SpeciesTringa melanoleuca (Greater Yellowlegs)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Voyageurs National Park

3 Verified sightings at Voyageurs National Park From 2019 to 2026

8,219 Verified sightings across all 84 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

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 →

Closest Relatives at Voyageurs National Park

Tringa solitaria

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Actitis macularius

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Gallinago delicata

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Calidris minutilla

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Scolopax minor

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Larus delawarensis

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

Larus smithsonianus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Charadrius vociferus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Sterna forsteri

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Hydroprogne caspia

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Sterna hirundo

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Katmai National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~50%
2	Jaragua National Park	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	~50%
3	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~30%
4	Bahía de Loreto National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	~30%
5	Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~30%
6	Ciénaga de Zapata	🇨🇺 Cuba	~20%
7	Paracas National Reserve	🇵🇪 Peru	~20%
8	Gros Morne National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	~20%
9	Celestún Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~20%
10	Lauca National Park	🇨🇱 Chile	~20%
11	Wrangell-St. Elias National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
12	Palo Verde National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
13	Caroni Swamp	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	~10%
14	Cabo Pulmo National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	~10%
15	Everglades National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
16	Big Cypress National Preserve	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
17	Isla del Coco National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
18	El Impenetrable National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	~10%
19	Nahuel Huapi National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	~10%
20	Coiba National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	~10%
21	Acadia National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
22	Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve	🇪🇨 Ecuador	~10%
23	Cape Breton Highlands National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	~10%
24	Yasuní National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	<5%
25	Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
26	Los Haitises National Park	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	<5%
27	Las Baulas Marine National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
28	Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
29	Amboró National Park	🇧🇴 Bolivia	<5%
30	Point Pelee National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
31	Tayrona National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	<5%
32	Cordillera Azul National Park	🇵🇪 Peru	<5%
33	Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
34	Madidi National Park	🇧🇴 Bolivia	<5%
35	Isle Royale National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
36	Cahuita National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
37	Main Ridge Forest Reserve	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	<5%
38	Henri Pittier National Park	🇻🇪 Venezuela	<5%
39	Manu National Park	🇵🇪 Peru	<5%
40	Amacayacu National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	<5%
41	Iberá National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	<5%
42	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
43	Torres del Paine National Park	🇨🇱 Chile	<5%
44	Saguaro National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
45	Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas	🇧🇷 Brazil	<5%
46	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
47	Tambopata National Reserve	🇵🇪 Peru	<5%
48	Shenandoah National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
49	Piedras Blancas National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
50	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
51	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
52	Darién National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
53	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
54	Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
55	Galápagos Islands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	<5%
56	Joshua Tree National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
57	Congaree National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
58	Yosemite National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
59	Soberanía National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
60	Wood Buffalo National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	Insufficient data
61	Tierra del Fuego National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	Insufficient data
62	Utría National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
63	Huascarán National Park	🇵🇪 Peru	Insufficient data
64	Biotopo Cerro Cahuí	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Insufficient data
65	Kenai Fjords National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
66	El Palmar National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	Insufficient data
67	Ostional Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
68	Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park	🇨🇱 Chile	Insufficient data
69	Península Valdés	🇦🇷 Argentina	Insufficient data
70	Chingaza National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
71	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
72	Sierra de la Macarena National Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
73	Anavilhanas National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
74	Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary	🇧🇿 Belize	Insufficient data
75	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
76	Calakmul Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
77	Denali National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
78	Chagres National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
79	Parque Natural Metropolitano	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
80	Los Nevados National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
81	Braulio Carrillo National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
82	Bastimentos Island National Marine Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
83	Carara National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
84	Farallones de Cali National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data

← Back to Voyageurs National Park

Greater Yellowlegs

About the Greater Yellowlegs

Recent sightings of Greater Yellowlegs in Voyageurs National Park

Closest Relatives at Voyageurs National Park

Solitary Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Wilson's Snipe

Least Sandpiper

American Woodcock

Ring-billed Gull

American Herring Gull

Killdeer

Forster's Tern

Caspian Tern

Common Tern

Bonaparte's Gull

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found