Phalaropus lobatus
Red-necked Phalaropes spin and whirl in shallow water during their migratory stopovers in the Rockies, displaying an unexpected foraging technique for a shorebird. Phalaropes swim in tight circles, stirring up tiny crustaceans and picking daintily at the water's surface with their needle-like bills. The Red-necked Phalaropes migrating through the Rockies in fall have come a long way from their arctic nesting grounds, but they still have even farther to go: most of them winter south of the Equator, at sea off western South America Phalaropes have individually webbed toes, like those of grebes, and they are good swimmers. 'Phalarope' is a translation of the Greek words for 'coot's foot'; the coot is another bird with lobed toes. |
I.D.: General: thin, black bill; long, black legs; long neck. Breeding female: chestnut neck and throat; white chin; blue-black head; incomplete, white eye ring; white belly; buff stripes on the upper wings. Breeding male: white eyebrow; less intense colors than the female. Non-breeding: white underparts; black mask. Size: L 7 in. (18 cm). Range: uncommon fall migrant and rare spring migrant throughout the Rockies; local spring migrant at Freezeout Lake, Montana. Habitat: In migration: open waterbodies, including ponds, lakes, large sloughs and sewage ponds. Nesting: on the tundra; often near water; on a hummock lined with grass and lichens; male incubates the eggs and rears the young. Feeding: whirls in tight circles in shallow or deep water, picking invertebrates from the water's surface or just below it; on land, makes short jabs to pick up food in open areas. Voice: often noisy in migration; soft krit krit krit. Similar Species: Wilson's Phalarope: breeds in the Rockies; female has a lighter head and back. |
