yob THE WIT. pox riTAEAROrE. 



No. 2S(). 



WILSON'S PHALAROPE. 



A. O. L*. Xo. 224. Stejjanopus tricolor \ iiill. 



Description. — .Idiilt female in siiiiiincr: Tup i)f head and U])pci" l)ack pearl- 

 gra\- : iiajx- and upper tail-coverts white : a wliite supraloral line ; a hlack stripe 

 starting from liefore e\e passes backward, becoming broader on side of neck, 

 changes to deep chestnut on hind-neck, and continuing backward over shoulder, is 

 interrupted and dispersed t)ver the scapulars; rump and wings grayish brown, 

 the latter with a very little white edging : tail still lighter gray-brown ; a reddish 

 brown wash across throat and chest and sometimes sides, as tho the coloring 

 matter of the hind-neck had "run"; remaining underparts pure white: bill black; 

 feet brownish. Adult male in siniiiiier: Similar to female but smaller, lacking 

 the pearl-gray and chestnut. — slaty-gray and rusty instead ; general appearance 

 of back and wings brownish gray, with blackish centers of feathers and some 

 ochraccous edging: black on sides of head and neck almost obsolete; rufous tinge 

 t)f chest very slight. Adults in z^'inter: "Above plain ash-gra\' : u])].ier tail-coverts, 

 superciliary stripe, and lower parts white, the chest and sides of breast shaded 

 with pale gray. Young: Top of head. back, and scapulars dusky blackish, the 

 feathers distinctly bordered with buff; wing-coverts also bordered with ])ale buf? 

 or whitish; upper tail-coverts, sujierciliary stripe, and lower ])arts white, the 

 neck tinged with buff" (Ridgw. ). .\dult female length ij.jo 1246.4); wing 5.23 

 (132.8); tail 2.03 {51.6); bill 1.40 (35.6); tarsus 1.38 (35.1 ); middle toe and 

 claw 1.20 (30.5). .Adult male length 8.75 (222.3) '' wing 4.69 (119.1 ) ; tail 2.17 

 (55.1 ) : bill 1.25 (31.8) ; tarsus 1.26 (32) ; middle toe and claw 1.06 (26.9). 



Recognition Marks. — Chewink to Robin size; pearl-gray, chestnut, and black 

 in masses distinctive in adult female. This bird superficially resembles the pre- 

 ceding in some of its plumage ; its larger size and especially longer bill, and larger_ 

 feet, as well as really dift'erent color pattern, should be noted. 



Nesting. — Nest: a shallow depression in the earth lined s])aringly with grass, 

 or not. li'jgs: 3 or 4, grayish or brownish buff', speckled, spotted, and l)lotched 

 witli (lark brown. Av. size. 1.30 x .90 ( 33 ^2:^). Season: c. June 1st ; one brood. 



General Range. — Temperate Xorth .America, chiefly the interior, breeding 

 from northern Illinois and L'tah northward to the Saskatchewan region: south in 

 winter to llrazil and I'atagonia. 



Range in Washington. — Xot common summer resi<lent on the East-side. 



Authorities. — ["Wilson's phalarpe" (sic). Johnson, Re]). Cov. W. T. 1884 

 (1885), 23.1 Johnson, 1 R. IT.). Condor. \'ol. \'TTT. Jan. ii)0(). p. zj. 



Specimens. — 1 T. of W . ) C. 



MOST exasperating fowls! But what else could you expect of a 

 freakish l)ird family wdiich reverses nature's law and lets the girls do 

 the courting? It happened — or rather, it didn't happen — in this wise. 

 On the 1st of June. 1905. at a point on Brook Lake where the wading 



