greater yellowlegs

noun

plural in form but singular or plural in construction
: a common North American bird (Tringa melanoleuca) of marsh and shore that is largely gray above and white below with black or dark gray flecks and yellow legs compare lesser yellowlegs

Examples of greater yellowlegs in a Sentence

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Without golf balls whizzing overhead, the land has become habitat for migratory shorebirds, among them black-necked stilts, greater yellowlegs and sandpipers, and has even drawn the secretive American bittern. Cara Buckley, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024 Four sandhill cranes off Central Street in Plainfield, a continuing blue grosbeak on Aqua Vitae Road in Hadley, 18 greater yellowlegs and two sanderlings in the East Meadows in Northampton, and three red crossbills at Quabbin Park at the Quabbin Reservoir in Belchertown. BostonGlobe.com, 29 July 2023 In Fairhaven, two snowy egrets, two greater yellowlegs and a short-eared owl at Winsegansett Marsh, a glaucous gull at Fort Phoenix State Reservation, a clapper rail. Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Apr. 2023 Semipalmated plovers, greater yellowlegs, and white ibises are just a few of the fascinating species that feed along the waterway, each one clearly visible from the preserve’s lofty observation tower perched along the Big Ferry Trail. Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 28 Jan. 2023 Two little gulls and a lingering laughing gull in Westport Harbor, a greater yellowlegs in Dartmouth and a flock of 16 red crossbills in the Freetown-Fall River State Forest. Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Dec. 2022 Birds at Bell’s Neck Conservation Area in Harwich included 40 green-winged teal, 2 Wilson’s snipe, 2 lesser yellowlegs, 16 greater yellowlegs, 4 bald eagles, and 5 osprey. BostonGlobe.com, 30 Mar. 2022 These are people who can tell a greater yellowlegs from a lesser yellowlegs even when there’s only one of them. Murr Brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 May 2020 In Fairhaven, a lark sparrow was seen at the Fort Phoenix State Reservation, and a greater yellowlegs was seen feeding on the mudflats at Veranda Avenue. BostonGlobe.com, 16 Dec. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1889, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of greater yellowlegs was in 1889

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Cite this Entry

“Greater yellowlegs.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/greater%20yellowlegs. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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