BROWN PHALAROPE. 207 



as the first joint, inner toe divided nearly to its base; hind toe 

 resting on the ground. 



Bill black, one inch and three-eighths in length; head above 

 of an ash gray; hind-head whitish, which colour extends a short 

 distance down the neck; over the eyes a white stripe, below 

 them a white spot; throat and lower parts white; a line of black 

 passes through the eyes, spreads out towards the hind-head, and 

 descends along the neck ; lower part of the neck pale ferruginous; 

 back part of the neck deep ferruginous, which descends on each 

 side, and mingles with the plumage of the back and scapulars, 

 which are of a clove brown, the feathers tipt with whitish; wings 

 and tail dark clove brown, some of the lesser coverts having a 

 reddish tinge; the upper tail feathers tinged with red at their 

 tips, the under feathers marked with white on their inner webs; 

 irides dark brown; legs and feet dark plumbeous; claws long, 

 of a dark horn colour; hind toe, independent of the claw, five- 

 sixteenths of an inch long; the tertials, when the wing is closed, 

 extend to within three-eighths of an inch of the tip of the pri- 

 maries; weight an ounce and three-quarters; length nine inches 

 and a half, breadth sixteen inches. This was a female, her eggs 

 very small. 



In the grand chain of animated nature, the Phalaropes con- 

 stitute one of the links between the waders and the wed-footed 

 tribes, having the form of the Sandpipers, with some of the ha- 

 bits of the gulls: the scalloped membranes on their toes enabling 

 them to swim with facility. They are clothed with a thick coat 

 of feathers, beneath which, as in the Ducks, lies a mass of down, 

 to protect them from the rigours of the northern climates, of 

 which they are natives. They do not appear to be fond of the 

 neighbourhood of the ocean, and are generally found in the in- 

 terior, about the lakes, ponds, and streams of fresh water, where 

 they delight to linger, swimming near the margin in search of 

 seeds and insects. 



They are nowhere numerous, are commonly seen in pairs, 

 and are so extremely tame and unsuspicious, that one may ap- 

 proach to within a few feet of them. 



