THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. I99 



Range in Great Britain. — The Red-necked Phalarope breeds 

 sparingly in the Shetlands and Orkney Islands, and in the 

 Outer Hebrides ; but the demand for British-taken eggs has 

 sadly diminished the numbers of those which nest within this 

 limited area. In other parts of Great Britain the species is 

 only procured as a migrant, occurring chiefly in the autumn. 

 Only one occurrence in Ireland has been recorded, namely, 

 in Armagh in November, 1891. 



Range outside the British Islands. — Although a circum-polar bird, 

 like its ally, the Grey Phalarope, the present species has a more 

 southern breeding-range than that species. It nests in the Arctic 

 Regions of America from Alaska to Southern Greenland, and 

 thence from Iceland and the Fseroe Islands to Northern Scan- 

 dinavia, and eastwards as far as Kamtchatka. In winter it goes 

 south as far as the Malayan Archipelago, passing by China 

 and Japan, and occurring at the same time on the shores of 

 the Indian Ocean. 



Habits. — An excellent account of the habits of this bird is 

 given by Mr. Nelson. Speaking of the birds in Alaska, he ob- 

 serves: — "As summer approaches on the arctic shores and coast 

 of Bering Sea, the numberless pools, until now hidden under 

 a snowy covering, become bordered or covered by water ; the 

 mud about their edges begins to soften, and through the water 

 the melting ice in the bottom looks pale green. The Ducks and 

 Geese fill the air with their loud resounding cries, and the rapid 

 wing-strokes of arriving and departing flocks add a heavy bass 

 to the chorus which greets the opening of another glad season 

 in the wilds of the cheerless north. Amidst this loud-tongued 

 multitude suddenly appears the peaceful fairy-like form of the 

 Northern Phalarope. Perhaps, as the hunter sits by the border 

 of a secluded pool, still half-covered with snow and ice, a pair 

 of slight wings flit before him, and there, riding on the water, 

 scarcely making a ripple, floats this charming and elegant bird. 

 It glides hither and thither on the water, apparently drifted by 

 its fancy, and skims about the pool like an autumn leaf wafted 

 before the playful zephyrs on some embosomed lakelet in the 

 forest. The delicate tints and slender fragile form, combining 

 grace of colour and outline with a peculiarly dainty elegance 

 of motion, render this the most lovely and attractive among its 

 handsome congeners. 



