tgos- Wii^iyiAMS — Red-necked Phalarope in Irela^id. 43 



It may be here desirable to mention the chief differences 

 existing between this bird and the much more common 

 species, the Grey Phalarope {Phalacories Julicarius) which 

 occurs, I may say, annually on migration during the months 

 of September and October. Both have the curious lobe-like 

 appendages, similar to the Bald Coot, which distinguishes 

 them from all other waders. 



P. fulicarius is a good deal the larger of the two, measuring — 

 length, 8*25 in. ; wing, 4-9 in., whilst P. hyperboreus measures 

 — length, 7*5 in. ; wing, 4*4 in. 



In their winter plumage the birds resemble one another, 

 being a uniform bluish grey on the back, forehead, breast ; 

 down to the tail pure white. In summer they widely differ, 

 the neck, breast, and lower parts in P. fulicarius being a 

 brilliant chestnut red, back black, with a rufous margin to 

 the feathers. P. hyperboreus in summer has the head^ hind 

 neck, and shoulders ash grey, back and wings rather darker, 

 sides and front of the neck chestnut, upper breast grey, under 

 parts white. Young birds of both species resemble one 

 another in autumn, having the feathers margined with pale 

 rufous. The feet are much less lobed than in the adult. 



The following notes describing the breeding range and 

 habits of this bird are from Mr. Howard Saunders' ** Manual," 

 and Yarrell's '* British Birds, " vol. iii. p. 316. 



The Red-necked Phalarope breeds plentifully in the south of 

 Greenland, Iceland, the Faroes, and above the forest growth 

 on the Dofrefield in Scandinavia, as well as in the north ; Nova 

 Zembla, Siberia up to lat. 73°, as far east as Kamtschatka, and 

 on the high ground by the Sea of Ochotsk. In Alaska, and 

 through the Arctic regions of America, it is very abundant, and 

 there again it nests by some of the lakes in the mountain ranges, 

 as well as on the flat coast; while in winter, or on passage, it has 

 been found down to the Bermudas and Guatemala. In the 

 Old World its migrations extend to the Indo-Malayan region, 

 its line through Central Asia crossing the Pamir range. 

 Unlike its congener, it avails itself of the route by the valley 

 of the Volga, especially in spring. It visits the Black Sea 

 district and some of the inland waters of central Europe, and 

 it occurs irregularly on both sides of the Mediterranean basin, 

 though rare to the west of Italy. It is seldom found in the 



