The Lesser Yellowlegs is a slender, long-legged shorebird measuring about 9.4–11 inches in overall length, with a wingspan of roughly 24–28 inches. In Arizona, it is a regular spring and fall migrant, typically passing through from late March into April and again from August through October. You’ll find them probing the mudflats and shallow edges of playas, irrigation canals, flooded agricultural fields, and marshes—especially at sites such as Willcox Playa, Whitewater Draw, and along the lower Colorado River at Cibola and Havasu National Wildlife Refuges. Though far less common in winter, stragglers sometimes linger in milder marsh habitats; their bright yellow legs, upward-tilted bill, and crisp, spotted breeding-plumage breast make them relatively easy to distinguish from other shorebirds on these wetlands.
Greater Yellowlegs and Lesser Yellowlegs