40 BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL 



first to announce the true relations of the sexes of this species. 

 His statements that " the male attends to the duties of incubation 

 almost entirely alone," and that "not only is the female much more 

 brilliant in plumage, but also considerably larger," are certainly 

 true, but that the females " pursue " the males during the pairing- 

 season seems to me to be rather doubtful, unless, as might be the 

 case, Mr. Kumlien has mistaken for this their habit of flying rest- 

 lessly about the marsh in small parties of three or four individu- 

 als, when the males are usually in advance. At these times the 

 nearest approach I have observed to pursuit is in a habit they have 

 of suddenly darting off for a short distance at right angles to their 

 general course, but this appears to be in mere sport, for nearly the 

 same relative positions are kept by the birds, and this erratic course 

 is rarely pursued beyond a few rods. 



In fact, throughout the pairing-season I have always found the 

 Phalaropes veiy undemonstrative toward each other, the choice of 

 mates being conducted in a quiet, unobtrusive way, quite unlike 

 the usual manner among birds. Neither have I ever seen the 

 males " drop as if shot, within two feet of me, and feign the most 

 distressing pains," when the nest is discovered ; nor even when the 

 newly hatched young have been captured do they evince any such 

 emotion, and at no time have I ever seen any more anxiety shown 

 by the male than by the female. Mr. Kumlien describes the nest 

 as being built in a tussock of grass, "much in the same manner as 

 the Agelceus phoenicetis" which is certainly a considerable variation 

 from the situations chosen by the birds in Northex-n Illinois, as a 

 comparison of the above statement with my description of the situ- 

 ation of the nest will show. 



My experience with the species has been to prove that during the 

 breeding-season, at least, they are averse to any large body of wa- 

 ter, and I have never found the young away from the midst of the 

 grassy marshes until fully fledged. The last author before quoted, 

 however, states that " the young are conducted to the shore soon 

 after they are hatched, and if suddenly surprised take to the water 

 and swim and dive with the greatest ease." 



In Northern Illinois, where the following observations were made, 

 Wilson's Phalarope is the most common summer resident, occurring 

 about grassy marshes and low prairies, and is not exceeded in num- 

 bers by even the ever-present Spotted Sandpiper. As is the case 

 with several other species of birds, Lake Michigan appears to form 



