RED PHALAROPE. 



GRAY PHALAROPE. SEA GOOSE. WHALE BIRD. 

 CrYMOPHILUS FULICARIUS. 



Char. Female in summer : above, black, the feathers of the neck and 

 back with a rufous or buff margin ; wings gray, tipjjed with white ; cheeks 

 white ; bill orange ; under parts reddish chestnut ; legs and feet yellow ; toes 

 lobed. Male : duller, white on cheek less defined, and head streaked 

 with rufous or buff. In winter the rufous tints disappear and the plumage 

 of the upper parts becomes gray and the under parts white, while the bill 

 turns black. Length about 8X inches. 



Nest. On a knoll in the spongy margin of a pond or saline pool, — a 

 slight depression in the peat or moss, scantily lined with grass, moss, or 

 leaves. 



Eggs. 3-4 ; olive buff or sea green, spotted with dark brown and pur- 

 plish brown; 1.25 X 0.90. 



The Flat-Billed or Red Phalarope inhabits the whole Arctic 

 Circle during summer, where, in the security of solitude, it 

 passes the important period of reproduction. It is observed 



