Regular passage visitor? and winter visitor?
A medium-sized (8-9 inches) wader, the male Red Phalarope in summer is most easily identified by its reddish-brown breast, mottled black-and-white upperparts, yellow bill and legs, and black head with white cheek patches. Summer females are similar but paler, especially on the breast and face. Winter birds of both sexes are light gray above and white below with conspicuous dark gray eye-stripes. This species is unmistakable in summer; in winter, it may be separated from the related Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) and Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) by its lighter body as well as its shorter bill and legs. The Red Phalarope breeds along all coasts of the Arctic Ocean in North America and Eurasia. In winter, this species is found far offshore, mostly in tropical waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This species migrates over water, but a few birds winter in waters near the United States, mostly off the coast of Florida, California, and Louisiana. Red Phalaropes breed in marshy portions of coastal tundra. In winter, this species is exclusively marine, being found in deep water far from shore. This species primarily eats insects during the breeding season, switching to an entirely plankton-based diet during the winter. Due to this species’ remote breeding and wintering grounds, Red Phalaropes are seen by relatively few birdwatchers. In summer, this species may be seen walking in shallow water while picking food off of vegetation or the surface of the water. In winter, Red Phalaropes may be seen in large flocks, swimming gull-like while picking plankton off the water’s surface. This species has been known to wait for large baleen whales to locate plankton before helping themselves to leftovers. Red Phalaropes are primarily active during the day.
A medium-sized (8-9 inches) wader, the male Red Phalarope in summer is most easily identified by its reddish-brown breast, mottled black-and-white upperparts, yellow bill and legs, and black head with white cheek patches. Summer females are similar but paler, especially on the breast and face. Winter birds of both sexes are light gray above and white below with conspicuous dark gray eye-stripes. This species is unmistakable in summer; in winter, it may be separated from the related Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) and Wilson’s Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) by its lighter body as well as its shorter bill and legs. The Red Phalarope breeds along all coasts of the Arctic Ocean in North America and Eurasia. In winter, this species is found far offshore, mostly in tropical waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This species migrates over water, but a few birds winter in waters near the United States, mostly off the coast of Florida, California, and Louisiana. Red Phalaropes breed in marshy portions of coastal tundra. In winter, this species is exclusively marine, being found in deep water far from shore. This species primarily eats insects during the breeding season, switching to an entirely plankton-based diet during the winter. Due to this species’ remote breeding and wintering grounds, Red Phalaropes are seen by relatively few birdwatchers. In summer, this species may be seen walking in shallow water while picking food off of vegetation or the surface of the water. In winter, Red Phalaropes may be seen in large flocks, swimming gull-like while picking plankton off the water’s surface. This species has been known to wait for large baleen whales to locate plankton before helping themselves to leftovers. Red Phalaropes are primarily active during the day.
The red phalarope or grey phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, migrating mainly on oceanic routes and wintering at sea on tropical oceans.
In 1750, the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the red phalarope in the third volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Red-footed Tringa". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from the Hudson Bay area of Canada by James Isham.[2] In 1758, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the red phalarope with phalaropes and sandpipers in the genus Tringa. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Tringa fulicaria and cited Edwards' work.[3] The red phalarope is now one of three species placed in the genus Phalaropus that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson.[4][5] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[5]
The English and genus names for phalaropes come through French phalarope and scientific Latin Phalaropus from Ancient Greek phalaris, "coot", and pous, "foot". The specific fulicarius is from Latin fulica, "coot". Coots and phalaropes both have lobed toes.[6][7]
The red phalarope is about 21 cm (8.3 in) in length, with lobed toes and a straight bill, somewhat thicker than that of red-necked phalarope. The breeding female is predominantly dark brown and black above, with red underparts and white cheek patches. The bill is yellow, tipped black. The breeding male is a duller version of the female. Young birds are light grey and brown above, with buff underparts and a dark patch through the eye. In winter, the plumage is essentially grey above and white below, but the black eyepatch is always present. The bill is black in winter. Their call is a short beek.
The typical avian sex roles are reversed in the three phalarope species. Females are larger and more brightly coloured than males. The females pursue males, compete for nesting territory, and will aggressively defend their nests and chosen mates. Once the females lay their olive-brown eggs, they begin their southward migration, leaving the males to incubate the eggs and care for the young. Three to six eggs are laid in a ground nest near water. Incubation lasts 18 or 19 days.[8] The young mainly feed themselves and are able to fly within 18 days of birth.
When feeding, a red phalarope will often swim in a small, rapid circle, forming a small whirlpool. This behaviour is thought to aid feeding by raising food from the bottom of shallow water. The bird will reach into the outskirts of the vortex with its bill, plucking small insects or crustaceans caught up therein. They sometimes fly up to catch insects in flight. On the open ocean, they are found in areas where converging ocean currents produce upwellings and are often found near groups of whales. Outside of the nesting season they often travel in flocks.
This species is often very tame and approachable.
The red phalarope is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
The red phalarope or grey phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, migrating mainly on oceanic routes and wintering at sea on tropical oceans.
.jpg)
