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Red Phalarope

Phalaropus fulicariusOrder: CHARADRIIFORMESFamily: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)

Red Phalarope Breeding Adult Portrait
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General

Red Phalarope: Medium-sized sandpiper with dark gray upperparts and rufous neck and underparts. Head has white face, black cap, and a thick, straight, yellow bill with black tip. Female is brighter with darker cap. Winter adult has mostly gray upperparts, pale crown, gray stripe through eye, white underparts mottled with gray on breast, and dark bill. Juvenile resembles male but is much duller and has eyestripe.

Range and Habitat

Red Phalarope: Breeds in Alaska and northern Canada; migrates along both coasts, very rarely in interior. Winters mainly at sea in Southern Hemisphere; irregular along the Pacific coast.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"twik", "clink-clink"

Interesting Facts

 The Red Phalarope is known in Europe as the Grey Phalarope. It is the most pelagic of the 3 phalarope species, spending up to 11 months each year in marine habitats.

 Females are larger and more brightly colored than males. The females pursue males, competes for nesting territory, and will aggressively defend their nests and chosen mates.

 When feeding, it will often swim in a small, rapid circle, forming a small whirlpool. This behavior is thought to aid feeding by raising food from the bottom of shallow water.

 A group of phalaropes has many collective nouns, including a "dopping", "swirl", "twirl", "whirl", and "whirligig" of phalaropes.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Red Phalarope
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Sandpiper (Scolopacidae)_blue
Species Phalaropus fulicarius
Length8 - 9 Inches
Wingspan15 Inches

Red Phalarope

Red Phalarope: Medium-sized sandpiper with dark gray upperparts and rufous neck and underparts. Head has white face, black cap, and a thick, straight, yellow bill with black tip. Feeds on small fish, insects and aquatic invertebrates. Flight is swift and direct with rapid wing beats.

● Song: "twik", "clink-clink"

● Foraging & Feeding: Red Phalarope: Feeds on insects, small mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic worms, plankton, and small fish. Wades into water to forage; finds food on surface and in shallows.

● Breeding & nesting: Red Phalarope: Three to four olive green eggs blotched with black or brown are laid in a shallow scrape on the ground lined with grass, lichens, and moss. Incubation ranges from 18 to 20 days and is carried out by the male.

● Similar species: Red Phalarope: Red-necked Phalarope has a longer, thinner, black bill. Stilt Sandpiper has longer legs, dark streaks on breast and flanks, and lacks gray patch around the eye. Wilson's Phalarope lacks wing stripe, has a white rump and tail, and longer bill.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Red Phalarope Breeding Adult Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Red Phalarope: Breeds in Alaska and northern Canada; migrates along both coasts, very rarely in interior. Winters mainly at sea in Southern Hemisphere; irregular along the Pacific coast.
BreedingPromiscuous, Polyandrous
PopulationYes but uncommon
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.8 Ounces