148 HISTORY OF THE 



Phalaropus lobatus (Lixx.)- 



NORTHERN PHALAROPE.. 

 PLATE X. 



Migratory; rare. Arrive about the middle to last of May. 



B. 520. R. 564. C. 603. G. 264, 69. U. 223. 



Habitat. Northern portion of the northern hemisphere; 



south in winter to Guatemala; breeding from Labrador and 



Alaska north to Iceland and Greenland, (Northern Asia and 



Europe.) 



Sp. Char. ^^ Adult female, in summer: Above, dark plumbeous, the back 

 striped with ochraceous or bufif; wings dusky, the greater coverts broadly tipped 

 with white; lower parts white; chest and sides of neck rufous. Adult male, in 

 summer: Similar to the female, but colors duller, the rufous almost confined to 

 sides of neck, and less distinct, the chest chiefly mixed white and grayish. Wiiv- 

 ter plumage: Forehead, superciliary stripe, sides of head and neck, with lower 

 parts generally, pure white; top of head grayish, the feathers with dusky shaft 

 streaks and whitish borders; a blackish spot in front of eye, and side of head, 

 from beneath eye across ear coverts, mixed dusky and grayish white; upper 

 parts chiefly grayish; sides of chest washed or clouded with grayish. Young: 

 Top of head dusky, with or without streaks; back and scapulars blackish, dis- 

 tinctly bordered with bufE or ochraceous; middle wing coverts bordered with 

 buff or whitish; forehead, supra-auricular stripe, lores and lower parts white, 

 the chest and sides of breast sometimes suffused with dull brownish; ear coverts 

 dusky. Downy young: Above, briglit tawny, the rump with three parallel stripes 

 of black, enclosing two of paler fulvous than the ground color; a triangular 

 patch of brown on crown, bounded irregularly with blackish; a black line over 

 ears; throat and rest of head pale tawny; rest of lower parts white, becoming 

 grayish posteriorly." 



Stretch of 

 Length, tuing. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Bill. 



Male 7.50 13.50 4.20 2.10 .80 .85 



Female... 7.90 14.25 4.50 2.25 .82 .90 



Iris dark brown; bill and claws black; legs, feet and webs 

 slate blue. 



These birds are quite common, during migration, along both 

 coasts, but rare inland. Their flight is very strong and easy, 

 and while feeding often rise, flying circling and low, dropping 

 here and there upon the floating seaweeds and debris that col- 

 lect so abundantly in the "tide streaks." They ride the waters 

 lightly, drifting upon its surface like a feather, gracefully pick- 

 ing to the right and left as they go; in actions much like the 

 true Brant, Branta hernicla., and for this reason are known by 

 the sailors as "Sea Geese." 



