Distribution

Breeding Range

Figure 1 . Breeds only in North America. Range extends from w. Alaska (162°W) east to n.-central Québec (73°W); southern and northern breeding limits are 51°N and 69°N, respectively. In Alaska, breeds throughout area bordered by Anaktuvuk Pass in the north, Kobuk River in northwest, Sheenjek Valley in northeast, Situk River flats in southeast, Lake Clark National Park in southwest, and Innoko National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in west (Gabrielson and Lincoln 1959, Kessel and Schaller 1960, Isleib and Kessel 1973, A. Bennett pers. comm.). In Canada, breeds north to n. Yukon (Old Crow), nw. and e.-central Mackenzie (Mackenzie Delta and Artillery Lake, respectively), s. Keewatin (Nueltin Lake), n. Manitoba (Churchill), n. Ontario (Hudson and James Bay coasts) and n.-central Québec, and south to nw. and e.-central British Columbia (Chilkat Pass, Stikine and Teslin plateaus, Peace and Fort Nelson lowlands), s.-central Alberta (Turner Valley), s.-central Saskatchewan (Whitefox River), central Manitoba (The Pas), and n. Ontario (Irving 1960, Godfrey 1986, Cadman et al. 1987, Campbell et al. 1990, Semenchuk 1992, Smith 1996, P. Sinclair pers. comm.). Further field studies likely to expand known breeding range to include other areas where agitated adults have been observed in Jun, e.g., Yukon Territory (northward to 69°N latitude; P. Sinclair pers. comm.) and w.-central Alaska (westward to s.-central Seward Peninsula; Kessel 1989). Breeds farther north than Greater Yellowlegs where ranges overlap; absent from eastern portion of Greater’s breeding range (i.e., Newfoundland, Labrador, e. Nova Scotia; Godfrey 1986, Elphick and Tibbitts 1998).

Winter Range

Figure 1 . In the U.S. winters along the Atlantic Coast from s. New Jersey (39°N) south to s. Georgia, throughout Florida, along the Gulf Coast from Florida west to s. Texas, and throughout the eastern third of Texas (Christmas Bird Count [CBC] data); also winters along the Pacific Coast from the s. San Francisco Bay area (38°N) south to s. California, and at the Salton Sea (Small 1994, CBC data). Small numbers winter locally at other inland localities and farther north along both coasts.

In Mexico, uncommon in winter along both coasts of Baja California (Wilbur 1987, Page et al. 1997), widespread on the mainland from Sonora south along the Pacific Coast, from central Chihuahua and s. Nuevo Leon in the interior, and from n. Nuevo Leon and n. Tamaulipas south throughout Mexico and Central America to s. Panama (Ridgely and Gwynne 1989, Stiles and Skutch 1989, Howell and Webb 1995). Also winters in the West Indies (Raffaele et al. 1998) and throughout South America to s. Chile and Argentina (55°S). Rare and irregular winter resident in Bermuda (Amos 1991).

Highest numbers in winter detected on the north coast of South America, with greatest concentrations in Suriname (Spaans 1978, Morrison and Ross 1989). Bulk of U.S. wintering population occurs in Gulf states, particularly Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Within the U.S., Lesser Yellowlegs does not winter as far north or as extensively at inland locations as the Greater Yellowlegs.

Summer Nonbreeders

Scattered individuals oversummer throughout winter range. Also present in Jun just south of breeding grounds in British Columbia (Campbell et al. 1990), Saskatchewan (Roy 1996), Ontario (Cadman et al. 1987), and Québec (Gauthier and Aubry 1996).

Other Records

Casual north and west of breeding range on some Bering Sea islands and the northern coasts of Alaska, Mackenzie, and Keewatin (Gabrielson and Lincoln 1959, Stephen and Herter 1989).

In the Atlantic, reported from Greenland, Iceland, Azores, and the Falkland Is. Regular vagrant to British Isles with average of 7 sightings/yr (1976–1985), usually Aug–Oct, but records from all months (Alström and Colston 1991). Less regular elsewhere in Europe (Alström and Colston 1991) with records from France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Greece, and Spain. Rare vagrant to Morocco (Alström and Colston 1991), Zimbabwe and S. Africa (Harrison et al. 1997), Nigeria, Uganda (Cramp and Simmons 1983), and Zambia (Am. Ornithol. Union 1998). Records of single birds in ne. Russia in May and Jun (Dorogoi 1997). Accidental in fall in Japan (Brazil 1991) and recently recorded from Hong Kong, China (Kennerley 1987). In the Pacific, rare vagrant to Clipperton I. (Am. Ornithol. Union 1998), the Hawaiian Is. (Pratt et al. 1987), French Polynesia (Clements 1992), Australia (Higgins and Davies 1996), and New Zealand (Heather and Robertson 1996).

A few reports from 1800s of Lesser Yellowlegs breeding south of present range in s. Wisconsin (Kumlien and Hollister 1951) and n. Illinois (Ridgway 1919). Migration patterns in the ne. U.S. appear to have changed in past 100 yr; previously, rare in spring north of New Jersey but now a regular and sometimes numerous spring migrant in this region (Forbush 1912, Stone 1937, Sibley 1993, Veit and Petersen 1993). Overall, still much more common in fall than spring in this region. Also, winter numbers have increased at Cape May, NJ, since the 1970s (Sibley 1993).

No information.