220 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



WILSON'S PHALAROPE 

 Steganopus tricolor / 'Icillot 



A. O, U. Xumber 224 See Color I'late 30 



Other Name. — Summer Phalarope. 



General Descriprion. — Lengtli, 9 inches. Color 

 above, graj' ; bill longer than head and very slender; 

 front toes with marginal webs, but the membrane not 

 scalloped. 



Color. — Adult Male in Summer: Forehead, crown, 

 and upper parts in general, including wings and 

 tail, dull grayish, streaked on back, shoulders, and wing- 

 coverts with darker gray ; lores and a broad stripe over 

 and behind eye, whitish ; throat and a patch on nape, 

 white; rest of under parts, dull white, washed on side 

 with pale yellowish ; a rusty area on side of neck, bor- 

 dered above with dusky; dusky spot in front of eye and 

 an indistinct one of the same color, behind; bill, dusky; 

 feet, dull horn ; iris, brown. Adult Female in Summer: 

 Crown, pale ash changing to white on a narrow stripe 

 on back of neck, this color changing again on back to 

 ash, continuing down and becoming white on rump and 

 upper tail-coverts ; a hrnad black area cniniitcnciiu; 

 behind eye, riinnmg halfway dozfn neck ivhere it'idcn- 

 iiig and chan(/inr/ into rich pnrplish-chcstnut, extending 

 along back in a narrower streak: shoulders, the same 

 color, bordered on each side with grayish ; wings, pale 

 grayish-brown ; primaries, dusky ; tail, mottled with 

 gray and white; chin and throat, pure white; rest of 

 under parts, tvhite: sides of neck, breast, and flanks 



washed with ])ale rufous; a large white spot over eye, 

 bordered in front with black streak ; a smaller spot of 

 white below eye; bill, dusky; feet, horn blackish; iris, 

 brown; no zvhitc patcli on zving. Adults in Winter: 

 Crown, back of neck, and ujjper parts, ashy-gray, each 

 feather usually edged with whiter; wing-coverts and 

 secondaries, dusky-gray edged with pale yellowish- 

 white; primaries, plain dusky; upper tail-coverts, line 

 over eye, and under parts, white, shaded on sides of 

 breast with grayish; a dusky spot in front of eye; an 

 indistinct streak behind eye of light dusky; bill, dusky; 

 legs, yellow; iris, brown. Young: Brownish-black 

 above, this soon succeeded by coloring of winter adult. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : A slight depression in the 

 ground ; lined with grass. Eggs : 3 or 4. creamy, buff, 

 or drab, spotted, specked, and scratched with brown of 

 different shades. 



Distribution. — \orth and South America; breeds 

 from central Washington, central Alberta, and Lake 

 Winnipeg south to eastern California, southern Colo- 

 rado, southern Kansas, northern Iowa, and north- 

 western Indiana ; winters from central Chile and cen- 

 tral Argentina south to Falkland Islands ; casual in 

 migration on Pacific coast from southern British Co- 

 lumbia to Lower California and on Atlantic coast from 

 Maine to New Jersey. 



y ■: . , w. L. 1-iiiicy .,i..i 11 I , i;-i,: ;, 



MALE WILSON'S PHALAROPE RETURNING TO HIS TASK OF INCUBATING 



