WILSON PHALAROPE , 



224. Steganopus tricolor. 9 in. 



Bill long and slender. Female in summer with a 

 black line through eye, shading into a broad stripe 

 of rich chestnut on the sides of the neck. Male much 

 duller colored and slightly smaller. This phalarope 

 is one of the most beautiful of all our shore birds, 

 and is the most southerly distributed of the phalaropes. 

 It is a bird of the interior, and is only rarely or cas- 

 ually met with on the sea coasts. It commonly travels 

 about in small companies instead of large flocks as the 

 other two species do, and is not as often seen on the 

 water, although it can swim well. 



Notes. Usually silent, but has a low quack. 



Nest. Of grasses, on the ground, usually concealed 

 in a tuft of grass, and near the border of a marsh or 

 pond; the 3 or 4 eggs are brownish or greenish-buff 

 with black markings ( 1.30 x. 90); June. 



Range. Breeds chiefly in the interior, from Iowa and 

 California, north to Hudson Bay; winters south of the 

 U. S. 



