NORTHERN PHALAROPE 
223. Lobipes lobatus. 7.5 in. 
Bill short and slender. Female in summer with 
reddish-brown breast; gray upper parts mixed with 
white and buff; throat and belly, white. Male, similar 
but duller colored. In winter, the upper parts are gray 
mixed with white, and the underparts are pure white. 
This is a maritime species that nests in the far north, 
and appears on our coast only for a short time during 
migrations. Like the last, they are expert swimmers 
and pass most of their time, when not breeding, upon 
the surface of the water, where they can outride the 
most severe storms in safety. They feed upon minute 
insects that they secure from beds of floating kelp. 
Notes.—A sharp, rapidly repeated, metallic * tweet.” 
Nest.—A_ grass-lined hollow in the ground; eggs 
greenish-buff, spotted with black (1.30 x .90). 
Range.—Breeds from Labrador, Hudson Bay and 
Alaska northward. Winters south of the United States, 
migrating along both coasts, and to some extent in the 
interior. 
