{"id":4341,"date":"2013-03-31T18:28:48","date_gmt":"2013-04-01T00:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/?p=4341"},"modified":"2013-04-01T17:27:47","modified_gmt":"2013-04-01T23:27:47","slug":"greater-vs-lesser-yellowlegs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earbirding.com\/blog\/archives\/4341","title":{"rendered":"Greater vs. Lesser Yellowlegs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Lesser Yellowlegs, Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge, NY, 9\/30\/2007. Photo by Wolfgang Wander (GFDL).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Can you tell Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs apart by voice?<\/p>\n

Can anybody?<\/p>\n

A recent thread<\/a> on the Xeno-Canto forum started me asking questions about how to identify yellowlegs by voice.\u00a0 Conventional wisdom says the two species can often be separated by their calls, at least with some experience.\u00a0 But as I was comparing the many online recordings<\/a>, I came to an uncomfortable conclusion.\u00a0 Either an awfully high percentage of the recordings were misidentified, or my own identification criteria were wrong.<\/p>\n

Today, I invite you to either share my confusion, or help me sort it out.<\/p>\n

History of the problem<\/h4>\n

In the old days (i.e., the 20th century), identifying yellowlegs by voice was simpler.\u00a0 Back then, according to the field guides, all you had to do was count the notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Field guide<\/strong><\/td>\nGreater Yellowlegs<\/strong><\/td>\nLesser Yellowlegs<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Peterson Western (1961)<\/strong><\/td>\nA 3-note<\/strong> whistle, whew-whew-whew<\/em>, or dear! dear! dear!<\/em><\/td>\nYou<\/em> or you-you<\/em> (1 or 2 notes<\/strong>), less forceful than clear 3-syllabled whew-whew-whew<\/em> of Greater Yellowlegs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Golden (1983)
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n		sharp 3- to 5-note<\/strong> whistle<\/td>\nsoft 1- to 3-note<\/strong> whistle that lacks the loud ringing quality of the Greater’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
National Geographic (1999)
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n		loud, slightly descending series of 3 or more<\/strong> tew<\/em> notes<\/td>\nhigher, shorter than in Greater: 1 to 3<\/strong> tew<\/em> notes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Although all three guides suggest differences in pitch and\/or tone quality, most people took away a simple rule: three or more notes is a mark for Greater Yellowlegs, less than three notes is a mark for Lesser<\/em>. Everybody understood that this was a rule of thumb and not a universal law, but still, it was a very popular mental shortcut.<\/p>\n

Then Sibley came along, and started complicating matters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nGreater Yellowlegs<\/strong><\/td>\nLesser Yellowlegs<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sibley (2000)
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n		Flight call a loud ringing deew deew deew<\/em>; typically three or four notes; higher than Lesser with strident overtones. In agitation an endlessly repeated single note tew, tew<\/em>…. Feeding bird gives soft, single notes. Display song a melodious, rolling kleewee kleewee<\/em>….<\/td>\nFlight call of short whistles tip<\/em> or too-too<\/em> typically flatter and softer than Greater; usually only one or two notes. In agitation a repeated tiw, tiw<\/em>…. Alarm a rising, trilled kleet<\/em>. Threat a low, rolling trill. Display song a rapid, rolling towidyawid, towidyawid<\/em>…; lower-pitched than flight call.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Here the numbers are tempered with the words “typically” and “usually,” and pitch and quality get a little more attention.\u00a0 Most importantly, the yellowlegs are now presented as birds with large vocal repertoires — you have to be sure you’re listening to the “flight call” before you start counting.<\/p>\n

So… how do you tell what you’re listening to?<\/p>\n

The “classic” calls<\/h4>\n

Here’s a pair of recordings from the same location on the same date, by the same recordist, that fit all the classic descriptions of the two species’ “flight calls”:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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