PHALAROPES. 



491 



The Phalaropes. 



and round the head of any intruder on their domain. Geologically these birds are 

 known to date from the period of the middle Miocene, remains of small species 

 having been obtained from strata of that age in France ; and it is not improbable 

 that they date from the still older upper Eocene beds of the Paris basin. 



The three species of phalarope, two of which are met with in 

 Britain, are readily distinguished from other members of the family 

 by the sides of the three front toes being provided with lobe-like expansions, some- 

 what similar to those of the coots, and likewise by the marked lateral compression 

 of the metatarsus, which is covered with scutes on both aspects. The beak is of 

 medium length, straight, somewhat depressed and relatively weak, with the oval 

 nostrils at its base surrounded by an elevated rim. The first toe, although smallj 

 is present, and a small portion of the tibia is bare. In the elongated and pointed 

 wings the first quill exceeds all the 

 others in length, and the short tail 

 is of a somewhat rounded form. 

 The plumage, like that of the 

 avocets, is remarkable for its softness. 

 During the breeding - season these 

 birds are confined to the northern 

 regions of Europe, Asia, and America, 

 two being inhabitants of the circum- 

 polar regions, while the third pertains 

 to the Western Hemisphere. They 

 are all more aquatic in their habits 

 than any other members of the 

 family, and chiefly frequent deeply 

 indented coasts, although also found 

 on the shores of inland lakes. In 

 general appearance they approach 

 the sandpipers, but they have shorter legs 

 coloured than the males. 



The grey phalarope {Phalaropus fulicarius), which is but an irregular visitor 

 to the British Islands, attains a length of 8 inches, and is remarkable for the differ- 

 ence in the colour of the winter and summer plumage of the under-parts. The 

 species may be recognised at all seasons by the comparative shortness and width 

 of the beak, and by the central tail-feathers exceeding the outermost in width by 

 half an inch. In the breeding-plumage the whole of the under-parts are of a rich 

 chestnut, and the back and rump black ; but in winter most of the upper-parts, as 

 well as a patch before the point of the wings, are pearly grey, while the under- 

 parts are pure white. Breeding in the circumpolar regions locally, but nowhere 

 in Continental Europe, this species occasionally visits North Africa in winter, and 

 has been recorded from New Zealand and Chili. The slightly smaller red-necked 

 phalarope (P. hyperboreus), which has likewise a circumpolar distribution, although 

 breeding locally in the Shetlands, Orkneys, and Outer Hebrides, may be recognised 

 by the tapering and pointed beak, which (like that of the preceding) does not 

 exceed an inch in length, and likewise by the smaller difference between the 



GREY PHALAKOPE. 



and the females are more brightly 



