24 BULLETIN 142, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



rate, he was apparently tired out, and whenever the hen stopped, as she 

 frequently did, to preen herself or feed, he sat down where he was, and tucking 

 his bill under his feathers, went to sleep. Before he had dozed for more than 

 a minute, however, the female would peck him awake, and, calling querulously, 

 force him to follow her while she led the way through the marsh. Now and 

 then she flew at him and chased him about, as if losing patience. This little 

 scene was repeated three or four times, and the birds were so confiding that 

 we were able to photograph them in the act. 



Aretas A. Saunders writes to me: 



I watched flocks of these birds on a small pond near the Priest Butte Lakes, 

 in Seton County, Mont. They flew to the pond in a compact flock, scattered 

 over the pond to feed, and evidently gathered insects from the surface of the 

 water. When frightened by the approach of a marsh hawk the birds all 

 rose, quickly formed the compact flock and flew away, returning later when the 

 hawk had gone. 



Voice. — The vocal performances of this little phalarope are not 

 elaborate or striking. As it rises from the water it utters a plaintive 

 and rather faint twittering note of one, two or three syllables, which 

 has been variously noted as tchip, or tchep, or pe-et, or pleep, or wit, 

 wit, or quet, quet. Charles TV. Townsend (1920) says that it has a 

 variety of notes. At times it twitters like a barn swallow, at times 

 it emits a single harsh note like that of the eave swallow. Again a 

 gentle ee-ep is emitted, or a sharp quip. According to TVitherby's 

 Handbook (1920), "' Gladstone describes alarm note as a hoarse 

 chiss-ick, and Aplin speaks of a short quit, a rapid ket-ket, ket-keU 

 and chinu-ckirra-chinu at nesting places." 



Field marks. — The northern is the smallest of the three phalaropes. 

 It is the one most likely to be seen on inland ponds, except where 

 the Wilson phalarope is common; but the latter is much larger and 

 lighter colored, especially in fall and winter. The best field marks 

 are small size, small head, slender neck and needlelike bill. The 

 upper parts are blackish or dark gray (not pearly gray, as in the 

 others) and in flight a white stripe shows conspicuously near the 

 posterior border of the wing. 



Fall. — Northern pharalopes are very abundant during August and 

 September off the coasts of New England, but they seldom come 

 near shore, except in severe storms. The main migration route is so 

 far off shore, south of Cape Cod, that these birds are seldom seen in 

 the Atlantic coast south of New England. 



There is a heavy fall migration throughout the interior, which 

 begins quite early. We found them abundant on both migrations 

 in Saskatchewan and Alberta. After I left, Dr. L. B. Bishop saw a 

 flock of 100 at Many Island Lake, Alberta, on July 13, 1905, the 

 beginning of the fall migration; they were still more abundant at 

 Big Stick Lake, Saskatchewan, on the 19th; nearly all of the birds 



