Birds of Indiana. 689 



Subgenus Phalaropus. 



85. (223). Phalaropus lobatus (Linn.). 



Northern Phalarope. 



Adult in Summer. — Above, sooty-gray, with lateral stripes of ochra- 

 ceous or tawny; neck, rich, rust-red, nearly or quite all around; under 

 parts otherwise, white, the sides marked with the color of back; upper 

 tail coverts like back, some lateral ones white; wings, blackish, the 

 ends of the greater coverts broadly white, forming a conspicuous cross- 

 bar, continued on some of the inner secondaries; bill and feet, black. 

 Varies much in plumage with age and season, but easily recognized by 

 the small size and generic characters. Immature. — Lacks chestnut. 



Length, 7.00-8.00; wing, 4.00-4.45; culmen, .80-.90; tarsus, .75-.80. 



Eange. — Northern portions of Northern Hemisphere, breeding in 

 Arctic latitudes. South in winter to Guatemala and Bermuda. 



Nest and Eggs, similar to those of Red Phalarope, but eggs smaller; 

 1.20 by .82. 



Rare migrant. Mr. C. A. Stockbridge informs me he has observed 

 it at Ft. Wayne. Two were taken in Boone County June 7, 1889. 

 They were all that were seen, and appeared to be mated. (J. E. Beas- 

 ley.) This is very late for them to be found here. These two birds are 

 now in the State Museum at Indianapolis. 



The following extracts are taken from Mr. Nelson's account of this 

 bird's habits: "As summer approaches, on the Arctic shores and 

 coast of Bering Sea, 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. 



"Amid this loud-tongued multitude suddenly appears the graceful, 

 fairylike form of the Northern Phalarope. The first arrivals reach 

 Saint Michaels, in full plumage, from May 14 to 15, and their num- 

 ber is steadily augmented until the last few days of May and first of 

 June, when they are on hand in full force and ready to set about the 

 season's cares. Every pool now has from one to several pairs of these 

 birds gliding in restless zigzag motion around its border. They may 

 be watched with pleasure for hours, and present a picture of ex- 

 quisite gentleness, which renders them an unfailing source of interest. 

 The female of this bird, as is the case with the two allied species, is 

 much more richly colored than the male, and possesses all the ^rights' 

 demanded by the most radical reformers. 



"As the season comes on when the flames of love mount high, the 

 dull colored male moves about the pool, apparently heedless of the 

 44— Geol. 



