Red Phalarope
Phalaropus fulicarius
The chunkiest and thickest-billed phalarope. Of the three phalaropes, Red is the least likely to be seen inland. Breeding females are brighter and more contrasting than males: note bright body the color of tomato juice, with black cap and white cheek. Males are colored like watered-down tomato juice, with a streaky cap. Also look for yellow bill with dark tip. Nonbreeding is much less colorful: smooth gray above and white below with a black ear patch. Juveniles are dark above and stained with buffy tones; they molt quickly into nonbreeding plumage. Breeds on Arctic tundra. Primarily found on the open ocean during migration and winter; rare inland. Usually in small flocks, but can gather in larger numbers, often in mixed flocks with Red-necked Phalarope. Red is best distinguished by larger size, thicker bill, and slightly paler, smoother-looking upperparts.
Identification
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.
Taxonomy
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. When the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition in 1758, he included the red phalarope and placed it with phalaropes and sandpipers in the genus Tringa. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Tringa fulicaria and cited Edwards' work. 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. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.<p>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.
- Scientific name
- Phalaropus fulicarius
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Phalaropus
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- NA, PAL : mostly high (locally low) Arctic marshy tundra of Holarctic: from sw, ec Greenland, Iceland (local), Svalbard (n of Norway), Novaya Zemlya and n Siberia to Bering Strait; n Alaska and n Canada including s tier of Arctic Canadian islands
- Non-breeding range
- temperate to tropical coastal waters of Atlantic and Pacific oceans: from n California to s Chile (e Pacific) and Atlantic USA to n Florida (w North Atlantic); coastal waters of e tropical and South Atlantic off nw, w, sw Africa
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
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.<p>This species is often very tame and approachable.
Conservation
The red phalarope is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Macronyx flavicollis
A large and relatively colorful member of the pipit family. Note the black necklace, orange throat, and partially yellow eye-stripe. The white corners of the black tail are conspicuous during the weak, fluttering flight. Found on the ground in montane grassland, often in wet areas. Brownish immatures can be confused with pipits, but are larger and more robust. The vocalizations include “tsik” calls and whistles.
Huet's Fulvetta
Alcippe hueti
Noisy flocking bird of a wide range of hilly and montane forested habitats. Modestly colored, with a brown body (darker above, paler below), white throat, and gray head marked by a sharp black stripe above the brow extending from the bill to the nape. Often a major component of mixed-species feeding flocks. Chatters loudly and constantly when foraging.
Ornate Fruit-Dove
Ptilinopus ornatus
A fruit dove primarily of foothill forest but wanders to lowland and montane forest. Two very different races. Dark red-capped race from the Bird’s Head of New Guinea, and yellow-green capped further east. Note the white band from the bill around the back of the neck and clay-colored chest. Similar to Pink-spotted Dove, but Ornate Fruit-Dove has a dark red wedge on the shoulder and yellow tip to the tail. Voice a slow but accelerating series of rising “woop” notes, similar to that of Pink-spotted but not as fast.
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