Chapter III: Introduction (2)

_Spring._--Countless thousands of these dainty little birds migrate northward off both coasts of North America in May, but very few ever come ashore except in bad weather. While cruising off the coast, 10 or more miles from land, one is likely to see them flying about in flocks, after the manner of small sandpipers, flitting about and alighting on drifting masses of seaweed or other flotsam, or swimming lightly on the smooth surface of the sea, darting hither and thither in a most erratic way, each seemingly intent on gathering its tiny bits of food. They are gentle, graceful, and charming little birds and well worth watching.

There is also a heavy northward migration through the interior during May. In Saskatchewan I saw a large flock at Quill Lake on May 28, 1917; and in the Crane Lake region we recorded it as an abundant migrant; it was seen migrating, on May 29, 1905, in large flocks with sanderlings; one was seen at Hay Lake on June 15; and two were taken on June 14, 1906, at Big Stick Lake, which were in breeding condition. C. G. Harrold writes to me that it is a common and rather late migrant in Manitoba. William Rowan's notes contain several references to the enormous flocks which pass Beaverhill Lake, Alberta, in May, mostly during the last two weeks.

Dr. E. W. Nelson (1887) has given us the following attractive account of the arrival of these birds in northern Alaska:

As summer approaches on the Arctic shores and coast of Bering Sea
the numberless pools, until now hidden under a snowy covering,
become bordered or covered with water; the mud about their edges
begins to soften, and through the water the melting ice in the
bottom looks pale green. The ducks and geese fill the air with
their loud resounding cries, and the rapid wing strokes of arriving
and departing flocks add a heavy bass to the chorus which greets
the opening of another glad season in the wilds of the cheerless
north. Amid this loud-tongued multitude suddenly appears the
graceful, fairylike form of the northern phalarope. Perhaps, as the
hunter sits by the border of a secluded pool still half covered
with snow and ice, a pair of slight wings flit before him, and
there, riding on the water, scarcely making a ripple, floats this
charming and elegant bird. It glides hither and thither on the
water, apparently drifted by its fancy, and skims about the pool
like an autumn leaf wafted before the playful zephyrs on some
embosomed lakelet in the forest. The delicate tints and slender
fragile form, combining grace of color and outline with a
peculiarly dainty elegance of motion, render this the most lovely
and attractive among its handsome congeners.

The first arrivals reach St. Michaels in full plumage from May 14
to 15, and their number is steadily augmented, until, the last few
days of May and 1st of June, they are on hand in full force and
ready to set about the season's cares. Every pool now has from one
to several pairs of these birds gliding in restless zigzag motion
around its border, the slender necks at times darting quickly
right or left as the bright black eyes catch sight of some minute
particle of food. They may be watched with pleasure for hours, and
present a picture of exquisite gentleness which renders them an
unfailing source of interest. The female of this bird, as is the
case with the two allied species, is much more richly colored than
the male and possesses all the "rights" demanded by the most
radical reformers.

_Courtship._--The same gifted writer goes on to say:

As the season comes on when the flames of love mount high, the
dull-colored male moves about the pool, apparently heedless of the
surrounding fair ones. Such stoical indifference usually appears
too much for the feelings of some of the fair ones to bear. A
female coyly glides close to him and bows her head in pretty
submissiveness, but he turns away, pecks at a bit of food and moves
off; she follows and he quickens his speed, but in vain; he is her
choice, and she proudly arches her neck and in mazy circles passes
and repasses close before the harassed bachelor. He turns his
breast first to one side, then to the other, as though to escape,
but there is his gentle wooer ever pressing her suit before him.
Frequently he takes flight to another part of the pool, all to no
purpose. If with affected indifference he tries to feed, she swims
along side by side, almost touching him, and at intervals rises on
wing above him and, poised a foot or two over his back, makes a
half dozen quick, sharp wing strokes, producing a series of sharp,
whistling noises in rapid succession. In the course of time it is
said that water will wear the hardest rock, and it is certain that
time and importunity have their full effect upon the male of this
phalarope, and soon all are comfortably married, while mater
familias no longer needs to use her seductive ways and charming
blandishments to draw his notice.

Mrs. Audrey Gordon (1921) made some interesting observations on the courtship of the red-necked phalarope, as this species is called abroad; she writes of her experiences in the Hebrides:

Three pairs were apparently in process of courting and their
behavior was most interesting. Both cocks and hens were swimming in
the water near the shore or in pools among the rushes. Suddenly a
hen would raise herself in the water and flutter her wings at a
great pace with her head held down and neck outstretched, all the
while uttering a curious harsh call. She would then pursue the cock
rapidly through the water for a few yards as though trying to
attract his attention. At times the cock rose from the water and
flew round about the pool where the hen was, with a low erratic
flight and very slow wing beats, calling as he flew. This display
only lasted a minute, when he would again alight on the water. Once
after this flight the hen followed him closely and he turned and
seemed to be about to mate her, but she would not let him. I saw no
more on this occasion, but on June 18 I watched two hens and one
cock in a pool. One of the hens kept close to the cock and whenever
the other hen came nearer she would chase her away. Both the cock
and the hen were seen to stand up in the water and flutter their
wings as described above. The cock seemed to pay little attention
to the hens and was busy pursuing, and picking up off the water,
large black flies. Then, without any warning or unusual excitement
on the part of either cock or hen, the nearest one to the cock
suddenly put her head low down in the water with neck outstretched
and made a curious single note. The cock at once swam to her and
mating took place, the hen being submerged in the water except for
her beautiful red neck. The cock fluttered his wings all the time;
he then went ashore into the grasses. The second hen still kept in
the neighborhood, though I imagine she must have realized she had
lost her chance of a mate.

P. H. Bahr (1907) throws some light on the peculiar sexual relations of this species; he says:

On the 5th of June we watched the phenomena of polygamy, and of
attempted polyandry in this species. At one end of the loch the
former condition held sway, two energetic and quarrelsome females
having attached themselves to one miserable-looking male, and it
was ludicrous to behold the awe in which he held them. Once in
particular he nearly swam between my legs in his efforts to avoid
their attentions. Till our departure on the 27th, these three birds
were constantly to be seen together. At the other end of the loch
two males were seen continuously circling round the head of a
female. I frequently observed the male performing evolutions, which
I have previously described as the "marriage flight." Zigzagging
from side to side with amazing rapidity he would hover with
dangling legs over the head of the female, who, circling placidly
in the water, appeared to take no notice of his attentions. Then
settling beside her he would peck and chase her as if endeavoring
to make her take to flight. Failing in this he would dash off once
more across the marsh uttering a warbling sort of song much like
that of the ringed plover. Then he would settle in a reedy spot,
such as would be chosen for the nesting site, and would call
vigorously, looking always in the direction of the female, as if
expecting her to follow. I observed several pairs, behaving in this
manner, and such was their fervor that the males continued this
performance even in the midst of one of the worst storms we
experienced. Often the female would resent these attentions, and a
pitched battle would ensue.

Herbert W. Brandt (mss.) writes:

It is very interesting to watch a struggle between two female
northern phalaropes over a solitary male. They fight by the hour,
not after the manner of the males, which rush at each other and
boldly lock in a mortal combat, but rather these females fight by
flipping their wings and pecking at each other instead of laying
hold with determination. This can be likened only to a feminine
hair-pulling episode. One day I watched such a combat for an hour,
and there were numerous occasions on which I thought that one of
the birds would succumb; but the contest seemed to be very equal,
and when a bird recovered from a hard onslaught it would return at
once and take up the wing sparring. They would flutter here and
there over the ground, first one then the other attacking, closely
followed all the time by the shy but neutral male, the prize of the
conflict. Natives informed me that they had never known of one's
being killed by the other, but that the birds would fight all day
long.

_Nesting._--My personal experience with the nesting habits of the northern phalarope has been limited to what few nests we found in the Aleutian Islands in 1911. These birds were very scarce or entirely absent in the eastern half of the chain. We saw a few on Atka Island where several nests, with fresh eggs or incomplete sets, were found on June 18. On Kiska Island they were really abundant and we found them breeding about the small grassy ponds and wet meadows; fresh eggs were found on June 21. Their favorite resorts all through the western part of the chain were the wetter portions of the flat alluvial plains, near the mouths of the streams and about the marshy ponds. They were very tame everywhere and, about the ponds where they were breeding, they were very solicitous and noisy. Their simple nests were merely deep, little hollows, lined with a few bits of grass, in the little mounds or tussocks in the wet meadows around the borders of the ponds or near the small streams.

F. S. Hersey collected several sets of eggs for me near St. Michael, Alaska, in 1914 and 1915; most of the nests were in rather wet situations on the tundra, in or near marshy places, rather poorly concealed and scantily lined with grasses; others were well hidden in the clumps of scanty grass, or deeply sunken into the tundra mosses and lined with bits of leaves or well lined with grasses. Other observers have described the nesting habits of this species substantially as indicated above, except that Henry H. Slater (1898), who has "encountered 45 nests with eggs in them in one day, and considerably more than a hundred altogether", describes the nest as "a deep comfortable cup, concealed in a tuft of grass, or under a trailing branch of some dwarf Arctic shrub."

_Eggs._--The northern phalarope lays four eggs almost invariably, rarely three eggs constitute a second set; as many as five and even seven eggs have been found in a nest, the largest number being the product of two females. The eggs vary in shape from subpyriform to ovate pyriform, are slightly glossy and are very fragile. The prevalent ground colors range from "pale olive buff" to "dark olive buff" or "ecru olive;" "olive buff" seems to be the commonest shade. In richly colored sets the colors range from "Isabella color," or "Dresden brown" to "buckthorn brown;" and in light buffy sets from "cream buff" to "cream color." The size, type, and arrangement of markings vary greatly in endless patterns. Some eggs, perhaps only one in a set, are evenly covered with small spots or dots, but more often these are mixed with larger, irregular spots or blotches. Some eggs are boldly marked with large irregular blotches. The colors of the markings range from "sepia," or "warm sepia," and "bister" to deep blackish brown, depending on the depth of the pigment. The underlying spots, in various drab shades, are small, inconspicuous and not numerous. In my series of over 50 sets there are two abnormal eggs; one is plain bluish white and unmarked; and another is similar except for one large blotch of "sepia" covering the large end. The measurements of 119 eggs, in the United States National Museum, average 29 by 20 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =33= by 21, 28 by =22.5=, =27= by 19, and 31 by =18.5= millimeters.

_Young._--The period of incubation does not seem to be definitely known, but probably it is not far from 21 days. A set of four eggs found by H. B. Conover on June 10 hatched on the evening of June 30. Incubation is performed largely, but perhaps not wholly, by the male. H. H. Slater (1898) writes:

Jerdon asserts that the females (of all the phalaropes presumably)
leave the care of the nests to the males and lead a club life in
separate flocks. In the present species I have not found the sex to
be so much "emancipated." I have never shot the red-necked
phalarope off the nest, often as I have had a chance to do so, nor
have I seen bare hatching spots on the breasts of either sex. I
have no doubt that the males are the most attentive parents, but in
the case of isolated nests the second bird makes its appearance
before you have been there long, and I have repeatedly seen both
with the young. In fact, I should have said that of all the birds I
know the present species is the most connubial, and the mutual
devotion of a pair is a most charming thing to see--in fact, quite
touching. When not actively employed they treat themselves, and one
another, to all manner of pretty and playful endearments.

Hugh S. Gladstone (1907) says:

Incubation is performed mostly, if not entirely, by the male. I
flushed females off nests on two occasions, but in one case the
full complement of eggs was not yet laid, and in the other I think
they were only newly laid. The ground color of the eggs varied from
stone to olive, and in one nest all four eggs were remarkably
rotund. They take some 18 days to hatch, and only one brood is
hatched in the season, though if the first sitting is destroyed the
bird will lay again. The nestlings, although they can not fly for
some days, are wonderfully precocious and can swim immediately.
Their beautiful golden downy plumage becomes paler and paler, even
after the first 24 hours.

When the nest contains eggs the female bird shows the greatest
anxiety. She can be seen swimming about in the pools; or, rising
without any splash, flying up and down quite close to one,
uttering a low cry of "_plip, plip_," varied by a hoarse
"_chiss-ick_." This cry warns the male, which never flies off the
nest, but always creeps through the grass and rushes, to some
pool, near one of which the nest is invariably placed. Here he
will soon be joined by the female, and they will swim about trying
to hide their anxiety by preening their feathers or pretending to
feed.

Some observers have said that the young do not take to the water until they are fully fledged, but Mr. Hersey's notes say that: "They run lightly over the beaten down masses of grass around the tundra ponds and when they know they are discovered take to the water and swim as well as their parents."

Doctor Nelson (1887) writes:

Fresh eggs are rarely found after June 20th, and by the middle to
20th of July the young are fledged and on the wing. By the 12th to
15th of July a few of the ashy feathers of the autumnal plumage
appear, and soon after old and young begin to gather in parties of
from five to a hundred or more, and seek the edges of large ponds
and flats or the muddy parts of the coast and borders of tide
creeks. During August and September they are found on the bays, and
the last are seen about the last of September or first of October.

_Plumages._--The general color pattern of the downy young northern phalarope is similar to that of the red phalarope, but it differs in some details and the colors are lighter and more yellowish above. The colors vary from "ochraceous tawny," on the crown and rump, to "antimony yellow," on the rest of the upper parts, and to "Naples yellow" on the throat. The underparts are more extensively grayish white than in the preceding species and there is considerable whitish between the black stripes on the back. There is more black in the crown, which is nearly surrounded by it, and the black terminates in a point on the nape. A very narrow black line runs from the bill to the eye; and there is a black auricular patch. The central black stripe on the back is broad, but the side stripes are narrow, and there are extensive black patches on thighs and wings.

I have seen no specimens showing the progress of development of the juvenal plumage. In the full juvenal plumage in August, the crown, occiput, and a space around the eye are black, the former faintly mottled with buff; the remainder of the head, throat, and under parts are white, more or less suffused with "light cinnamon drab" and gray on the sides of the neck, breast, and flanks; the feathers of the back and scapulars are brownish black, broadly edged with bright "ochraceous tawny," which gradually fades; some of the tertials are narrowly edged with the same color; the median and inner greater wing coverts and the central tail feathers are narrowly edged with pale buff or white.

A partial molt of the body plumage in September and October produces the first winter plumage, which is like that of the winter adult, except that the juvenal wings are retained. The sexes are alike in the juvenal and all winter plumages. A partial prenuptial molt, from February to June, involving the body plumage, some of the wing coverts and scapulars and the tail, produces the first nuptial plumage, in which the sexes differ, and which is nearly, if not quite, indistinguishable from that of the adult.

Adults have a complete molt from July to October and an incomplete molt from February to June, similar to that of the young bird, producing the distinct and well-known winter and nuptial plumages.

_Food._--The northern phalarope obtains most of its food in the water, on the ocean or in bays or in brackish pools or in fresh-water ponds. Its characteristic and best-known method of feeding, on which many observers have commented, is to swim rapidly about in a small circle or to spin around in one spot, by alternate strokes of its lobed feet; this quick whirling action is supposed to stir up the minute forms of animal life on which it feeds and bring them within reach of its needlelike bill, which it jabs into the water two or three times during each revolution; the spinning motion is often very rapid and sometimes quite prolonged, a curious performance to watch. We saw this many times in the Aleutian Islands where small flocks were constantly seen spinning around about the old piers or feeding in the surf off the beaches where they floated buoyantly over the little waves or fluttered over the crests of the small breakers.

William Brewster (1925) describes an interesting feeding performance, at Umbagog Lake, Maine, as follows:

Alighting again, about 100 yards off, it began fluttering about in
circles, now narrowly clearing the water for a yard or two, next
hitting against or skittering over the surface, acting indeed, for
all the world like some enfeebled butterfly or clumsy moth,
alternately attracted and repelled by a forest pool lying in deep
shadow. This singular performance was occasionally varied by more
pronounced upward flights, extending to a height of several feet,
and apparently undertaken in pursuit of flying insects, passing
overhead.

Both the northern and the red phalaropes feed in large numbers at sea, often being associated together; their favorite feeding places are in the tide rips, on or around floating masses of seaweed, in the vicinity of whales or near schools of fish. George H. Mackay (1894) writes:

On May 25, 1894, about 10,000 (as carefully estimated) were
observed resting on the water around the "pigs" (rocks lying off
Swampscott), occupying an area of about a mile radius. They were
feeding on the red whale bait (brit) some of which was taken from
them. I am informed that these birds follow the mackerel, which
also feed on this brit, by their pursuit of which it is driven to
the surface, and is then obtainable by the birds. I am also told
that in the Bay of Fundy the phalaropes so frighten the mackerel
when they come to the surface in pursuit of the brit, that the fish
sink themselves. To prevent this, the fishermen carry at times
quantities of liver cut up, which they throw out to attract these
birds and keep them away from the fish in order that they may be
better able to capture the latter.

Dr. Alexander Wetmore (1925), in his report on the food of the northern phalarope, gives the results of the examination of 155 stomachs, collected in Alaska and in the United States, from May to October, inclusive; flies and the larvae of mosquitoes were the largest element, 32.8 per cent; the true bugs (_Hemiptera_) came next, 31.8 per cent, including water boatmen and back swimmers; beetles represented 16.5 and crustaceans 9.3 per cent; the remainder contained dragonfly nymphs, spiders, marine worms, small mollusks, a few small fishes and a few seeds. Various other insects and their larvae, many of which are injurious, are included in the food of this bird.

_Behavior._--In flight these phalaropes remind one of the smaller sandpipers; their flight is swift and often erratic; when flying in flocks they twist and turn and wheel back and forth like a flock of peeps, flashing white or dark gray, as breasts or backs are turned toward the observer. Mr. Brewster (1883) has seen them pitch "down from a considerable height with closed wings, much as snipe will do under similar circumstances." Again he (1925) speaks of seeing one "rise abruptly to a height of 15 or 20 feet, and poise there for a moment, beating its wings and shaking its tail in a violent and peculiar manner."

It is while swimming on smooth water that the northern phalarope seems most at home, most graceful, charming, and confiding; it is usually very tame and easily approached, but sometimes, especially when in large flocks, it seems to be afraid of a boat and keeps beyond gun range. It swims lightly as a cork, its thick coat of breast feathers giving it great buoyancy, its head is held high and carried with a graceful nodding motion. When a flock alights on the water, the individuals soon scatter and swim about rapidly and independently in zigzag lines or circles, jabbing their bills into the water in a nervous and excited manner. I have never seen them dive and doubt if they can do so, as they seem to have great difficulty in getting under water, even to bathe. They frequently alight on floating masses of seaweed, where they run about and feed with all the nervous activity of small sandpipers on a mud flat. Roland C. Ross (1924) made some interesting observations in southern California; he writes:

"The northern phalarope is quite fearless in this region, but
seldom does one find the birds so confiding as in the following
instance: Mr. Ray Francisco, the warden for the gun club on this
marsh, was working in water a foot or two deep, pulling out sedges,
dock, and arrow-weed. The northern phalaropes took an interest in
this roiled up water and drew close to dab at the surface and
"whirligig" about in their unique way. As the man kept at work they
drew nearer until actually about his feet. They stayed with him
until he stopped work in that section. They were observed sleeping
on land and water, bill along the back under a wing. Their
ablutions were absurd attempts to get a swanlike breast and neck
under water, when such airy grace and buoyancy forbade any
subaquatic ventures. To get the proper ducking the phalarope
stretches up and drives his pretty head and breast down in the
water, which effort promptly forces his tail end up; whereupon like
a cork he rebounds, to ride high and dry above the water with
hardly a sign of moisture on the close-fitting plumage. At once he
jerks up and ducks again, and again, all to little avail,
seemingly. This up-jerk and ducking motion can be observed at a
good distance, and the birds may be identified by it."

A curious little incident, observed in the Hebrides by Misses Best and Haviland (1914), is thus described:

On the south side of the loch, just where we had seen the pair of
birds on our previous visit, we found a male and female in the long
herbage at the water side. Perhaps we ought to reverse the usual
order and say female and male, for the traditional dominance of the
masculine sex is entirely unknown in this species. Certainly this
cock bird was a most henpecked little fowl. Possibly he had been
captured immediately on his arrival from the sea. At any rate, he
was apparently tired out, and whenever the hen stopped, as she
frequently did, to preen herself or feed, he sat down where he was,
and tucking his bill under his feathers, went to sleep. Before he
had dozed for more than a minute, however, the female would peck
him awake, and, calling querulously, force him to follow her while
she led the way through the marsh. Now and then she flew at him and
chased him about, as if losing patience. This little scene was
repeated three or four times, and the birds were so confiding that
we were able to photograph them in the act.

Aretas A. Saunders writes to me:

I watched flocks of these birds on a small pond near the Priest
Butte Lakes, in Seton County, Mont. They flew to the pond in a
compact flock, scattered over the pond to feed, and evidently
gathered insects from the surface of the water. When frightened by
the approach of a marsh hawk the birds all rose, quickly formed the
compact flock and flew away, returning later when the hawk had
gone.

_Voice._--The vocal performances of this little phalarope are not elaborate or striking. As it rises from the water it utters a plaintive and rather faint twittering note of one, two or three syllables, which has been variously noted as _tchip_, or _tchep_, or _pe-et_, or _pleep_, or _wit_, _wit_, or _quet_, _quet_. Charles W. Townsend (1920) says that it has a variety of notes. At times it twitters like a barn swallow, at times it emits a single harsh note like that of the eave swallow. Again a gentle _ee-ep_ is emitted, or a sharp _quip_. According to Witherby's Handbook (1920), "Gladstone describes alarm note as a hoarse _chiss-ick_, and Aplin speaks of a short _quit_, a rapid _ket-ket_, _ket-ket_. and _chirra-chirra-chirra_ at nesting places."

_Field marks._--The northern is the smallest of the three phalaropes. It is the one most likely to be seen on inland ponds, except where the Wilson phalarope is common; but the latter is much larger and lighter colored, especially in fall and winter. The best field marks are small size, small head, slender neck and needlelike bill. The upper parts are blackish or dark gray (not pearly gray, as in the others) and in flight a white stripe shows conspicuously near the posterior border of the wing.

_Fall._--Northern phalaropes are very abundant during August and September off the coasts of New England, but they seldom come near shore, except in severe storms. The main migration route is so far off shore, south of Cape Cod, that these birds are seldom seen in the Atlantic coast south of New England.

There is a heavy fall migration throughout the interior, which begins quite early. We found them abundant on both migrations in Saskatchewan and Alberta. After I left, Dr. L. B. Bishop saw a flock of 100 at Many Island Lake, Alberta, on July 13, 1905, the beginning of the fall migration; they were still more abundant at Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan, on the 19th; nearly all of the birds taken on these two dates were adult females; many males were probably still tending broods of young. A. G. Lawrence writes to me that these birds are fairly common transients in southern Manitoba, from August 15 to the end of September.

H. L. Stoddard (1923) has published the following note:

Occasionally in August and September of past years large flocks of
small shore birds have been seen a long way offshore in the
sand-dune region of southern Lake Michigan circling and wheeling,
flashing alternately snow-white breasts and darker backs.
Long-range examination with binoculars showed rather prominent
whitish wing bars, but the identity of the birds was never
satisfactorily determined until the afternoon of August 28, 1921,
when the writer was camping at the mouth of the above-mentioned Bar
Creek, in Sheboygan County, Wis. About 2 o'clock in the afternoon a
light fog drifted in, and soon after large numbers of small shore
birds, similar in actions and appearance to those mentioned, were
sighted executing extraordinary maneuvers close to the surface of
the water about 500 yards out. They circled and recircled, turned
and twisted, some of the flocks finally alighting in some smooth
streaks in the water inshore of a long line of net stakes that
extended about a mile out. Fully 500 of the birds, now recognized
as phalaropes, were in sight. One specimen, a female in fall
plumage, was finally secured by tying the shotgun onto driftwood
pieces and swimming out among them. They were in no way disturbed
at my presence until a shot was fired, and I fully satisfied myself
that the bulk of the flock were of the same species as the one
secured, northern phalaropes.

J. A. Munro tells me that these birds are irregular fall migrants at Okanagan Landing, British Columbia, from July 28 to September 18. Along the California coast the fall migration is heavy and prolonged from the latter part of July until late October or early November, the bulk of the flight passing during August and September. Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer (1918) say:

Heavy winds on the ocean sometimes prove disastrous to the
migrating hosts of northern phalaropes. Chapman records finding
many bodies of this species in the tide pools of the Farallon
Islands. A heavy northwest wind had been blowing along the coast
for the previous two weeks, and many of the birds had resorted to
inland pools of water. The emaciated condition of the birds at the
Farallones was probably due to their inability to procure food
while on the open ocean in migration. Forbush records numbers of
these birds as being killed on the Atlantic coast by dashing
against lighthouses at night. In the Cape Region of Lower
California, Brewster found that "most of the birds examined had
lost one or more toes, and two or three an entire foot, and part of
the tarsus also, while others showed gaping wounds on the breast.
These mutilations were probably caused by the bites of fishes."
Emerson records finding several of these birds killed by flying
against the telephone wires strung across the salt ponds on the
marshes west of Hayward, and says that very many of this and other
species of birds are killed in this manner.

_Winter._--Practically nothing is known about the winter home of this species in the Western Hemisphere. It is evidently south of the borders of the United States and probably south of the Equator on the open ocean. The few straggling winter records for California and South America give but a scant clue to the winter resorts of the vast numbers that pass us on migrations.

DISTRIBUTION

_Range._--Distributed over both Old and New Worlds.

_Breeding range._--Arctic regions of both hemispheres. In Europe and Asia the breeding range of the northern phalarope extends from Iceland, Spitsbergen, and Scandinavia, across northern Russia and Siberia to Bering Sea. South to Sakhalin Island, southern Russia (Orenburg), and the Outer Hebrides, Shetland, and Orkney Islands.

In North America the breeding range extends north to Alaska (Near Islands, St. Paul Island, Nelson Island, Pastolik, St. Michael, probably Golofin Bay, the Kowak Valley, Cape Blossom, Point Hope, Point Barrow, and the Gens de Large Mountains); Mackenzie (Franklin Bay); Keewatin (Cape Eskimo); probably Baffin Island (Cumberland Sound); and Greenland (North Star Bay, Upernavik and Jacob's Bight). East to Greenland (Disko Island); Labrador (Nain and Hopedale); and western Quebec (Fort George and Rupert House). South to western Quebec (Rupert House); northern Manitoba (York Factory and Fort Churchill); Mackenzie (Artillery Lake and Fort Rae); and Alaska (Nushagak and Kiska Island). West to Alaska (Kiska and Near Islands).

_Winter range._--The winter range of the European and Asiatic birds appears to extend south to southern Japan, the north coast of New Guinea, Ceram, the coast of Beluchistan, the east coast of Arabia, and probably points in the northern part of the Indian Ocean.

The winter range of North American breeding birds of this species is more or less imperfectly known, and they are believed to winter largely at sea. It has been reported as wintering in southern California; it has been taken or observed in Costa Rica (Desamparados) and Peru (Tumbez); there is a specimen in the museum at Buenos Aires, Argentina, that was taken in Patagonia.

_Spring migration._--Early dates of arrival in North America are: Florida, 175 miles west of Tampa, March 14; Bermuda Islands, March 18; South Carolina, near Chester, May 17; North Carolina, Cape Lookout, April 3; Maryland, Cumberland, May 23; New Jersey, 80 miles off Barnegat, May 6, and Cape May County, May 22; New York, Long Cave, April 2, Montauk Point, April 30, and Branchport, May 16; Connecticut, Quinnipiac Marshes, May 21; Massachusetts, near Boston, May 5, Marthas Vineyard, May 6, and Provincetown, May 21; Maine, near Milo, May 3; Quebec, Godbout, May 27; Nova Scotia, Halifax, May 12; Ohio, Youngstown, May 26; Nebraska, Lincoln, May 10; Manitoba, Shoal Lake, May 19; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, May 15, Osler, May 13, and Dinsmore, May 30; Colorado, Loveland, May 1, Denver, May 17, and Middle Park, May 26; Montana, Big Sandy, May 18, and Terry, May 21; Alberta, Beaverhill Lake, May 7; California, Monterey, April 9, Santa Barbara, April 24, Fresno, May 5, Los Banos, May 19, and Santa Cruz, May 22; Oregon, Klamath Falls, April 17, Malheur Lake, April 26, and Newport, April 30; Washington, Destruction Island Lighthouse, April 27, Shoalwater Bay, May 9, and Olympia, May 13; British Columbia, Okanagan Landing, May 18, and Mabel Lake, May 25; Yukon, Forty-mile, May 3; Alaska, Fort Kenia, May 3, Bethel, May 19, Kowak River, May 22, Igushik, May 23, St. Michael, May 14, Fort Yukon, June 1, and Point Barrow, June 11; and Greenland, North Star Bay, June 14.

_Fall migration._--Late dates of departure are: Alaska, Pribilof Islands, August 31, Port Clarence, September 6, and Okutan, September 17; British Columbia, Okanagan Landing, October 15; Washington, Clallam Bay, October 28; Oregon, Oswego, September 25; California, Fresno, October 6, Watsonville, October 20, and Monterey, October 24; Montana, Priest Butte Lakes, September 4, Columbia Falls, September 13, and Corvallis, September 20; Idaho, Salmon River Mountains, September 5; Wyoming, Fort Washakie, September 13, and Yellowstone Park, September 18; Colorado, near Denver, October 13; Manitoba, Whitewater Lake, September 9, and Shoal Lake, September 21; North Dakota, Stump Lake, September 2; Nebraska, Lincoln, October 26; Minnesota, St. Vincent, August 31; Wisconsin, near Cedar Grove, September 23; Ontario, Ottawa, October 12; Ohio, Youngstown, October 9; Newfoundland, October 11; Ungava, mouth of the Koksoak River, September 19; Maine, near Pittsfield, September 3; New Hampshire, Lonesome Lake, September 22, Lancaster, October 8, and Dublin Pond, October 13; Massachusetts, Nantucket, September 20, near Springfield, September 23, Swampscott, September 26, Harvard, October 5, and Ware, October 13; Connecticut, Hartford, September 27; New York, Branchport, September 15, Athol Spring, September 24, Oneida Lake, September 21, Ithaca, September 27, Flushing, September 29, and Montauk Point, October 22; New Jersey, Stone Harbor, September 4, near Tuckerton, September 13, and 5-fathom Beach Light, October 12; Pennsylvania, Pittston, September 2, Beaver, September 26, Carlisle, October 1, and Erie, October 10; District of Columbia, Washington, August 31; West Virginia, near Parkersburg, September 26; North Carolina, Bladen County, September 23; and South Carolina, Frogmore, September 25, and Sea Islands, October 25.

_Casual records._--The northern phalarope is apparently less common in the Mississippi Valley and the Southwest. Some records in these regions are: Michigan, Lenawee County, September 14, 1899, near Forestville, October 4, 1911, and October 28, 1911; Indiana, Fort Wayne, June 7, 1889; Illinois, Calumet Lake, September 27, 1903; Iowa, Burlington, August 10, 1894, and Omaha, May 6, 1896; Missouri, near St. Louis, October 9, 1878; Kansas, May 25, 1883; New Mexico, Las Vegas, August 31, 1903; and Arizona, Walker Lake, August 19, 1889.

_Egg dates._--Alaska: 83 records, May 20 to July 23; 42 records, June 12 to 25. Arctic Canada: 58 records, June 16 to July 10; 29 records, June 23 to July 1. Iceland: 43 records, May 25 to July 12; 22 records, June 8 to 26. British Isles: 18 records, May 16 to July 12; 9 records, June 7 to 24.

STEGANOPUS TRICOLOR Vieillot

WILSON PHALAROPE

HABITS

I shall never forget my first impressions of a prairie slough with its teeming bird life, an oasis of moisture in a sea of dry, grassy plain, where all the various water birds of the region were thickly congregated. Perhaps 10 or a dozen species of ducks could be seen in the open water, gulls and terns were drifting about overhead, grebes and countless coots were scurrying in and out among the reeds, and noisy killdeers added their plaintive cries to the ceaseless din from swarms of blackbirds in the marsh. In marked contrast to the clownish coots and the noisy killdeers and blackbirds, the almost silent, gentle, dainty, little phalaropes stand out in memory as charming features in the picture, so characteristic of western bird life. The virgin prairies are nearly gone, but there are still left a few oases of moisture in our encroaching civilization, where these graceful birds may continue to delight the eye with their gentle manners.

Unlike the other two world-wide species, the Wilson phalarope is a strictly American bird, making its summer home in the interior of North America and wintering in southern South America. It differs from the other two also in being less pelagic and more terrestrial; it is seldom, if ever, seen on the oceans, being a bird of the inland marshes; and it prefers to spend more time walking about on land, or wading in shallow water, than swimming on the water. Hence its bill, neck and legs are longer, and its feet less lobed. It is a more normal shore bird.

_Spring._--The spring migration seems to be directly northward from the west coasts of South America, through Central America, to the Mississippi Valley on one hand and to California on the other. Although it usually arrives in Manitoba during the first week in May, sometimes as early as April 27, I have found it common in Texas as late as May 17. Wilson phalarope are often associated with northern phalaropes on migrations, sometimes in considerable flocks, frequenting the temporary ponds made by heavy spring rains on the grassy meadows, rather than the larger ponds and lakes. The first arrivals are usually females, followed later by mixed flocks of both sexes, which soon scatter and separate into small parties of two or three pairs.

_Courtship._--The pursuit courtship is thus described by Rev. P. B. Peabody (1903):

For some three weeks after their arrival, these birds gladden
landscape and water scape, in care-free abandon. They are ever on
the move, afoot or awing; and during these three weeks of
junketing, the unique courtship is carried on. There is no more
laughable sight, to one endowed with a modicum of the sense of
humor, than that of a couple, or even three, of the brightly
colored females, ardently chasing a single somber-plumaged male,
who turns and darts, here and there, in arrowy flights apparently
much bored by the whole performance. Meanwhile, the sometimes
dangling feet and the ever tremulous wings of the amorous females
bespeak an ardor that would be ridiculous, under the circumstances,
were it not so desperately in earnest.

Dr. E. W. Nelson (1877), on the other hand, writes:

At these times the nearest approach to pursuit is in a habit they
have of suddenly darting off for a short distance at right angles
to their general course, but this appears to be in mere sport, for
nearly the same relative positions are kept by the birds, and this
erratic course is rarely pursued beyond a few rods. In fact,
throughout the pairing season I have always found the phalaropes
very undemonstrative toward each other, the choice of mates being
conducted in a quiet, unobtrusive way, quite unlike the usual
manner among birds. The only demonstrations I have observed during
the pairing time consist of a kind of solemn bowing of the head and
body; but sometimes, with the head lowered and thrust forward, they
will run back and forth in front of the object of their regard, or
again a pair may often be seen to salute each other by alternately
bowing or lowering their heads; but their courtship is
characterized by a lack of rivalry and vehemence usually exhibited
by birds. A male is often accompanied by two females at first, but
as soon as his choice is made the rejected bird joins her fortunes
with some more impressible swain.

During my various seasons spent on the western plains I have frequently seen these phalaropes flying about in trios, consisting of one male and two females, the male always in the lead, as if pursued. Females apparently outnumber the males; and, as nest building and incubation are entirely performed by the male, many of the females must remain unattached and unable to breed. I have actually seen the male building the nest and have never been able to flush a female from a set of eggs or a brood of young.

W. Leon Dawson (1923) writes:

We have already acknowledged that Mrs. Wilson wears the breeches
and that she is more inclined to club life than she is to household
cares. The case is, however, much more serious than we had at first
suspected. I owe the original intimation of the true state of
affairs to Mr. A. O. Treganza, the veteran oologist of Salt Lake
City; and subsequent investigation of my own has abundantly
confirmed his claims. Mrs. Wilson is a bigamist. Not occasionally,
and of course not invariably, but very usually she maintains two
establishments. Now that attention is called to it, we see that our
notebooks are full of references to female phalaropes seen in
company with two males. The association can not be accidental, for
we are in the very midst of the breeding season. The males,
frightened by our presence in the swamp, and not daring to remain
longer upon their eggs, have sought the comforting presence of the
head of their house. The three take counsel together, and it is
only when the redoubtable lady announces that the way is clear that
the dutiful cuckolds trail off to their nests. On the 6th and 7th
of June, 1922, our M. C. O. party of three members gave close
attention to a swamp in Long Valley, southern Mono County, at an
altitude of 7,000 feet. We took 11 sets, of four eggs each, of the
Wilson phalaropes, and we noted a distinct tendency of the nests to
group themselves in pairs. In only one instance, however, were we
able to trace clearly a connection between two occupied nests.
These two, containing heavily incubated eggs, were situated only 42
feet apart, and the two males who were flushed from them by a
surprise coup of ours joined themselves immediately to the only
female who had shown any solicitude concerning this section of the
swamp.

_Nesting._--The Wilson phalarope is regarded by some egg collectors as an exasperating bird, because they have some difficulty in finding its nest. The nest is surprisingly well concealed, often in what seems to be scanty vegetation; and the eggs are good examples of protective coloration. I remember once crossing a moist meadow, covered with short grass which had been mowed the previous season; a male phalarope flushed from almost under foot, I threw down my hat to mark the spot and started hunting for the nest. I hunted in vain, until I gave it up and picked up my hat; there was the nest, with four eggs in it, under the hat and in plain sight.

In southwestern Saskatchewan in 1905 and 1906, we found some half dozen or more nests of this species, between June 8 and July 13. The nests were on the wet or moist meadows about the lakes and sloughs or on marshy islands; some of the nests were in practically plain sight in short grass; others were more or less well concealed in longer grass, which was sometimes arched over them; they were always difficult to find unless the incubating male was flushed. The nests were merely hollows in the damp ground, three or four inches in diameter, either scantily or well lined with dry grass.

Doctor Nelson (1877) gives a very good description of the behavior of these birds on their nesting grounds, as follows:

Incubation is attended to by the male alone. The female, however,
keeps near, and is quick to give the alarm upon the approach of
danger. The females are frequently found at this time in small
parties of six or eight; and should their breeding ground be
approached, exhibit great anxiety, coming from every part of the
marsh to meet the intruder, and, hovering over his head, utter a
weak nasal note, which can be heard to only a short distance.

The movements of the birds usually render it an easy matter to
decide whether or not they have nests in the immediate vicinity.
After the first alarm, those having nests at a distance disperse,
while the others take their course in the form of an ellipse,
sometimes several hundred yards in length, with the object of their
suspicion in the center; and, with long strokes of their wings,
much like the flight of a killdeer, they move back and forth. As
their nests are approached the length of their flight is gradually
lessened, until at last they are joined by the males, when the
whole party hover low over the intruder's head, uttering their
peculiar note of alarm. At this time they have an ingenious mode of
misleading the novice, by flying off to a short distance and
hovering anxiously over a particular spot in the marsh, as though
there were concealed the objects of their solicitation. Should they
be followed, however, and a search be there made, the maneuver is
repeated in another place still farther from the real location of
the nest. But should this ruse prove unavailing, they return and
seem to become fairly desperate, flying about one's head almost
within reach, manifesting great distress.

Aretas A. Saunders writes to me that, in Teton County, Mont., they nest in small colonies in grassy marshes, where alkaline soil prevents the grass, mainly species of _Carex_ and _Juncus_, from growing tall.

_Eggs._--The Wilson phalarope almost invariably lays four eggs, rarely only three. The shapes vary from ovate pyriform to ovate and there is a slight gloss. The ground colors vary from "cartridge buff" to "cream buff," rarely "chamois." The ground color is generally well concealed by numerous markings, more or less evenly distributed. Some eggs are uniformly covered with small spots and dots, but more often these are mixed with a few larger, irregular blotches. An occasional handsome set is boldly and very heavily blotched, sometimes almost concealing the ground color. The markings are usually in very dark, brownish black or blackish brown. In some handsome sets these dark markings are mixed with "bay" and "auburn" markings. The measurements of 57 eggs average 33 by 23.4 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure =36.2= by 23.7, 33 by =25.1=, =30= by 22.5 and 30.5 by =22= millimeters.

_Young._--The period of incubation does not seem to be known. I can find no evidence that the female ever takes any part in it, but that she does not lose interest in her family is plainly shown by her demonstrations of anxiety when the nest is approached; probably she feels responsible for the faithful performance of his duties by her demure spouse. The male broods over the newly hatched young, protecting them from rain, or excessive heat or cold. But they are soon able to run about in a lively manner and care for themselves. Doctor Nelson (1877) writes that "the young have a fine, wiry peep, inaudible beyond a few feet." I believe that the young remain in the grassy meadows, where they can hide in safety, and do not take to the water until they are fully fledged.

_Plumages._--In its natal down the young Wilson phalarope is entirely unlike the other phalaropes and quite different from any other young wader. The slender bill and long slender legs and feet are characteristic. It is prettily and distinctively colored also. The prevailing color of the upper parts and of a band across the chest is "ochraceous buff," deepening on the crown, wings, and mantle almost to "ochraceous orange," and paling to buffy or grayish white on the belly and to pure white on the chin and throat. There is a narrow, median, black line on the crown extending nearly or quite to the bill; this is continued in a broad, more or less broken, black stripe down the center of the back to a large black patch on the rump; a black spot on each side of the crown, one on the occiput and several more on wings, thighs, and sides of the back, sometimes run together to form stripes.

In fresh juvenal plumage, in July, the feathers of the crown, back, scapulars, tertials, and all wing coverts are dusky or nearly black, broadly edged with "light pinkish cinnamon" or "cinnamon buff," broadest and brightest on the scapulars; the under parts are white, but the throat, sides of the breast and flanks are washed with "pinkish buff," and the last two are mottled with dusky; the central tail feathers are broadly edged with "pinkish buff," bordered inwardly with a broad dusky band, surrounding a white area, with a dusky central streak invading it; the other tail feathers are similarly marked, but less completely patterned.

This plumage is worn for only a short time, as the body plumage and tail are molted during the last half of July and in August. By September young birds are in first winter plumage, which is like that of the adult, except that the entire juvenal wing is retained with the buff edgings faded out to white. The sexes are alike in juvenal and all winter plumages. A partial prenuptial molt in the spring, involving the body plumage and most, if not all, of the wing coverts and scapulars, makes the young bird practically adult.

Adults have a partial prenuptial molt in April and May, involving the tail, the wing coverts and all the body plumage, which produces the well-known brilliant plumage of the female and the duller plumage of the male. The complete postnuptial molt in summer produces the gray winter plumage in both sexes, in which the crown, back, and scapulars are "light drab" or "drab-gray," with narrow white edgings, and the upper tail coverts, as well as the under parts, are white. The sexes can be recognized in adult winter plumage by size only.