[TN-Bird] Re: CORRECTION to report made for Saturday, March 19
- From: OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx
- To: MerlinZ02@xxxxxxx, tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 18:25:55 EST
In a message dated 3/21/2005 2:31:14 P.M. Central Standard Time,
MerlinZ02@xxxxxxx writes:
After re-reading my bird books, I realized I mis-IDed the Yellowlegs at
Rankin Wildlife Management Area. The 3 birds were LESSER YELLOWLEGS. I
had the
alarm call backwards.
Notes on Yellowlegs:
Just a few thoughts on the calls and IDs of these two species, in National
Geographic it states Lesser calls are USUALLY 1-3 notes. In Sibleyâ??s Guide
it
states Greaterâ??s calls are TYPICALLY 3 or 4 notes and Lesser USUALLY 1 or 2
notes. In Paulsonâ??s it states Greater â?? calls USUALLY given in threes or
fours and Lesser USUALLY two noted.
No doubt that the TYPICAL calls are usually diagnostic but not all birds
give typical calls. Just this past weekend I heard and saw Greater give 2 note
calls and in the past I've heard Lesser give multi- noted calls other than
alarm calls in flight. When more than one bird is calling it is hard to note
how
many calls came from specific birds. So ID's on just call notes can be iffy
if other points are not considered and if you want the ID to be 100%.
I think first you should be aware of the tonal differences of the two call
notes with the Greaterâ??s being more STRIDENT or forceful, in a slightly
descending series while the Lesserâ??s calls are sharp, less musical, shorter,
softer
and flat not descending. The Greater has a PUNCH to its call.
But rather than just hang your hat on a call why not study the two birds and
get a true feel for their distinctive looks in the field.
Size is a biggy, with Greater being twice the bulk of Lesser, if just one
other species like a Killdeer is around you should be able to gauge this big
difference. There is a size differences between males and females of the two
species and I've seen big female Lesser in with groups of male Lesser called a
Greater but they are not anywhere near double the size of the others just
noticeably larger.
There are distinct plumage differences, some subtle some not, but these give
a big clue to ID. The wings are longer on Lesser and usually extend well
past the tail where the Greater is short winged and looks chopped at the rear.
In the air the Lesserâ??s feet stick fully past the tail but on Greater just
the
toes stick out. Of course the bills are shaped differently and also colored
differently and noticeably different in length even in flight.
On closer observations, you may see the difference in the placement of the
nares or that the secondaries are spotted on Greater and not on Lesser (this
can be seen in flight as well as when the birds preen) The coarseness,
extensiveness and placement of the markings on the feathers of Greater in most
plumage's are good enough to separate it from Lesser.
Even if you get to see these two species sparingly, there are numerous
details that will get you to the right identification, if you just take a
little
more time when you get the chance to watch either species and really study
their differences.
Good Birding!!!
Jeff R. Wilson
OL'COOT / TLBA
Bartlett, TN
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