Lesser Yellowlegs | NWT Species at Risk

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

NWT List of Species at Risk:

Not applicable

NWT SARC Assessment:

Not applicable

Federal Species at Risk Act list:

Under Consideration

COSEWIC Assessment:

Threatened

NWT General Status Rank:

Sensitive

Description:

The Lesser Yellowlegs is a medium-sized shorebird. Breeding birds have uniform gray to grayish brown upperparts with pale spotting. They have a dark bill, long slender neck, and distinctive bright, long yellow legs. Their distinctive “tu-tu” call can commonly be heard in boreal habitats during the breeding season.

Weight: 79.5 to 90.9 g (2.8 to 3.2 oz)
Length: 23 to 27 cm (9.1 to 10.6 in)

Report Lesser Yellowlegs sightings to ebird.org or NWT_NUChecklist.TNO_NUReleve@canada.ca

Distribution

Range map information

The Lesser Yellowlegs breeds across the boreal forest of Canada and Alaska.

Habitat and biology

Lesser Yellowlegs breed in muskeg and open forests in the boreal ecozone. They typically lay 4 eggs in a slight depression in the ground in dense vegetation near open water. Lesser Yellowlegs are very defensive of their nest site and will approach intruders from great distances in order to distract them. Their nests are notoriously difficult to find as a result.

Population size and trends

Approximately 80% of the breeding population occurs in Canada’s boreal ecozone. Surveys suggest that populations of Lesser Yellowlegs have declined by about 22% in Canada over a ten year period (2009-2019). Causes of the decline are not completely understood, but loss of wetland habitat and under-regulated harvest during migration and on the wintering grounds are of primary concern.

Threats

Potential threats in the Northwest Territories include loss of wetland breeding habitat. In other parts of the range outside the NWT, sport and subsistence hunting are a concern during migration and on the wintering grounds.

Protection and recovery

COSEWIC assessed Lesser Yellowlegs as Threatened in 2020.

Lesser Yellowlegs and their nests are protected under the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act.

Area:

Dehcho, Gwich'in, Inuvialuit, Sahtú, South Slave, North Slave / Tłı̨chǫ