The Henpecked Shorebird That Goes to Sea 147 



My reading and consultation with my Alaska friends told 

 me why the male northern phalarope had been called "the 

 henpecked shorebird which goes to sea." It does go to sea and 

 probably for the greater part of its life. And the male is a 

 henpecked bird with a role on the breeding ground which is 

 somewhat depressing. He does not strut and pose as the 

 leader of phalaropes nor does he have the delusions of 

 grandeur carried by the cock in Rostand's play Chanticleer. 

 It is the female that gets the top billing. She is larger, more 

 dominating, much more elaborately attired, and does not 

 hesitate to run the whole show. She gets into character from 

 the time she puts feet on the ground which is to be her 

 summer home. She does not wait for a suitor but, seemingly 

 adopting the theory that what is worth having is worth going 

 after, she starts out, makes overtures to the male of her 

 choice, fights over him with her female rivals, chases him, 

 browbeats him, makes seductively beautiful flights as he 

 floats on the water beneath, and herds him constantly until 

 she has won him and they are finally mated. 



Is it any wonder that these visiting phalaropes had a dif- 

 ferent appeal to me after I had checked their records? My 

 marsh observations would never have taught me the facts 

 about them. I would have placed them under the head of 

 queer or eccentric birds and would have let it go at that. The 

 field of my marsh observations was narrowly limited. It had 

 required the combined observations of many men over a 

 period of many years to piece together the numerous records 

 I had consulted. But with the information I acquired I could 

 visualize the birds' departure from their offshore wintering 

 areas, their speedy overwater flight to their far north breed- 

 ing grounds, and their arrival on those foggy, bleak, and 

 windswept beaches where snow patches still remained and 

 ice formed every night on the ponds. The birds would gather, 

 the courtship proceedings would begin, and the fighting 

 females would quarrel with each other over the possession 



