200 



GRAY PHALAROPE. 



white; throat, sides of the neck, and lower parts, white, thick- 

 ly and irregularly harred with curving dashes of reddish choco- 

 late; upper parts of a deep cinereous blue, streaked with brown- 

 ish yellow and black; the black scapulars broadly edged with 

 brownish yellow; wings and rump dark cinereous; greater wing- 

 coverts broadly tipped with white, forming a large band; pri- 

 maries nearly black, and crossed with white below their coverts; 

 tail plain olive, middle of its coverts black, their sides bright 

 brownish yellow; vent white, those feathers immediately next 

 to the tail reddish chocolate; legs black on the outside, yellow- 

 ish within. 



Length nine inches, breadth fifteen inches and a half; length 

 of hind toe, independent of the claw, one-eighth of an inch. 

 Male? 



The inner toe is connected to the middle one, by a membrane, 

 as far as the first joint, the outer toe much further: hence 

 the feet may be properly termed semipalmate; webs and lobes 

 finely pectinated. This conformation of the feet is pretty accu- 

 rately exhibited in Edwards's plate, No. 308. 



The Gray Phalarope is a rare bird in Pennsylvania; and is 

 not often met with in any part of the United States. The indi- 

 vidual from which our figure and description were taken, was 

 shot in a pond, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, in the latter part 

 of May, 1812. There were three in company. The person 

 who shot it had never seen one of the species before, and was 

 struck with their singular manners. He described them as 

 swimming actively near the margin of the pond, dipping in 

 their bill very often, as if feeding, and turning frequently. In 

 consequence of our specimen being in a state of putridity when 

 received, it was preserved with considerable difficulty, and 

 the sex could not be ascertained. 



In the spring of the year 1816, my friend, Mr. Le Sueur, 

 shot in Boston Bay a young individual of this species: crown 

 dark slate, tinged with yellowish brown; front, throat, line over 

 the eye, belly and vent, white; shoulders, breast and sides, 

 tawny or fawn colour; back dark slate, paler near the jump, 



