294 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



blackish. The length of this bird is about eight 

 inches. The feet of both varieties of the phala- 

 rope are peculiar, being lobed like those of the 

 coot. The red-necked phalarope is also called, 

 from this formation of its feet, the lobe-foot. 

 The Rev. C. A. Johns states that ' the most 

 marked habit of these birds seems to be that 

 of alighting at sea on beds of floating seaweed 

 . . . swimming about in search of food, or running 

 with light and nimble pace after the manner of 

 a wagtail,' and that 'they are often met with thus 

 employed at the distance of a hundred miles from 

 land.' The length of this bird is somewhat shorter 

 than that of the gray phalarope, being about seven 

 inches and three-quarters, and the male is rather 

 smaller than the female. Colonel Irby thus 

 describes its plumage in spring : Chin and 

 throat white ; a bright rufous patch on each side 

 of the neck, extending almost across the throat. 

 In winter the forehead and the greater part of 

 the crown are white, cheeks and under parts 

 nearly pure white ; the nape, and a streak through 

 the eye, sooty - brown. I have never had 

 an opportunity of observing this bird when 

 alive, and am indebted to Mr. Saunders' work 

 for the description of its winter plumage. 

 It is, indeed, rarely that any specimens in 

 museums and collections are, unless freshly 

 preserved, thoroughly reliable as to the colour 

 of the plumage, as the latter is so very liable to 

 fade. There are other varieties of the phalarope, 



