PHALAEOPUS.— STEGANOPUS. 395 



lateribus castaneis. Long, tota circa 7-0, alse 4-5, caudae 1-75, culm. 0-95, tarsi 0-76. (Descr. avis 

 adultsB ex Hudson's Bay. Mus. Brit.) 



Eab. North America, breeding in Arctic latitudes i^. — Mexico, Bahia de la Ventosa 

 [Sumichrast '^ ^^) ; Guatemala {Constancia * ^ ^), Lake of Duenas (0. S.^^^); Costa 

 Rica, Desamparados {Undenvood, in litt.). — N. Europe and N. Asia, migrating in 

 winter to the Indian and Malayan seas ^. 



The Eed-necked or Northern Phalarope breeds in the Arctic and Subarctic Eegions 

 of both hemispheres, and occurs in Central America in winter. Four specimens came 

 under our notice in Guatemala, these having been obtained on the Lake of Duenas in 

 August ; they had nearly completed the change from the summer to the winter plumage, 

 but retained some traces of the former, and had evidently but just arrived ^ ^ '^^. The 

 species has also been met with in Tehuantepec in October by Sumichrast ^ ^. 



The account of the breeding of P. hyperhoreus in its Arctic home, as given by 

 Mr. Nelson, is very amusing, and it appears that all the courting is done by the larger 

 and more brightly coloured hen, the male having to perform the duties of incubation. 

 In addition to the lobed toes, in which character it approaches the Grebes, the species 

 resembles the latter birds in being an excellent swimmer, and is even more at home on 

 the water than on the land. It is tame and sociable, and even during the breeding- 

 season many individuals consort together, while before migration considerable flocks 

 may often be seen i^- 



The nest is a slight structure of dry stalks in the centre of a tuft of grass. The 

 eggs are four in number, pale or rich buff, or pale olive, blotched and spotted with 

 blackish-brown and pale brown, with underlying greyish markings ^^. 



STEGANOPUS. 



Steganopus, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxxii. p. 136 (1819) ; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xxiv. 

 p. 705 (1896). 



This genus differs from the preceding in having the tarsus much longer, equal to 

 the culmen in length. 



Steganopus is represented by a single species, which, like the other Phalaropes, puts 

 on a gay and exceedingly beautiful dress in summer, but assumes a plumage of grey 

 and white for the winter. It is entirely American in its range, and does not extend 

 so far north as the other members of the subfamily ; in winter, however, it reaches 

 south to Patagonia. 



1. Steganopus tricolor. 



Steganopus tricolor, YieiW. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxxii. p. 136'; EUiot, N. Amer. Shore-Birds, 



p. 31 '; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xxiv. p. 705'. 

 Phalaropus tricolor, Stejn. Auk, ii. p. 183*; Ferrari-Perez, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. ix. p. 178="; 



50* 



