THE GKEY PH ALA HOPE. 



Phalaropns hiatus. 



HE Grey Phalarope is one of 



the prettiest and most in- 

 teresting of our autumn visi- 

 tors, the peculiar purity and 

 delicacy of its grey winter 

 plumage being very notice- 

 able and attractive. 



Like many other birds of 

 aquatic habits, it annually 

 undergoes a considerable 

 change in its appearance, and 

 perhaps affords as striking 

 an example of this sort of 

 metamorphosis as any of the 

 feathered wanderers to our 

 shores. 



The Grey Phalarope is 

 about eight inches in length, 

 the females being a trifle 

 larger. In winter the beak 

 is black; top of the head 

 white ; irides dark brown ; 

 the eye is surrounded by 

 dusky black; the ear-coverts 



