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Red Phalarope
Phalaropus fulicarius
Identify the Red Phalarope by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.
The Red Phalarope, or Grey Phalarope, is a small Arctic-breeding wader that spends most of the year far out at sea, wintering in tropical and subtropical oceans. In breeding plumage females are brick-red below with white cheeks, while in winter it is grey and white. Sex roles are reversed: brighter females court the males, which incubate the eggs and raise the chicks.
Did you know?
- Its spinning creates a tiny whirlpool that lifts prey to the surface.
- Females court and defend mates, while males incubate and raise the young.
About the species
Identification
Its straight, fairly thick bill separates it from Red-necked Phalarope. Females are larger than males and much more colourful in the breeding season: brick-red underparts, white cheeks and a yellow bill with a dark tip. In winter it is grey and white with a dark eye patch, and looks sturdier than Red-necked Phalarope.
Family
Scolopacidae
Size
Medium (thrush)
Colours
red, white, black, brown, yellow
About the habitat
Breeds on Arctic tundra near shallow ponds and marshy pools; outside the breeding season on the open ocean, especially at upwellings and current fronts, rarely on inland lakes.
Diet
Small aquatic invertebrates – crustaceans such as copepods, insects and larvae – picked from the water surface; at sea plankton, and chicks eat mostly flies such as midges and craneflies.
Behaviour
Feeds by swimming and spinning rapidly in circles to create a small whirlpool that lifts prey to the surface, and picks prey from the water or snatches flying insects. Outside the breeding season it travels in flocks over open ocean, gathering at upwellings and even near whales. It is notably tame.
Sources
Photo: Christoph Moning, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phalaropus fulicarius 98755138 (cropped).jpg
Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_phalarope
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