106 NESTS AND EGGS OP 



by the lobate feet like those of the Coots and Grebes. The body is de- 

 pressed and the under-plumage thick like that of a duck. They ride 

 the waves lightly along the coast, and when on the margin of a stream 

 or pool often surprise their associates, the Sandpipers, by swimming 

 out into deep water. The Red Phalarope appears to be more exclu- 

 sively maritime than other species of the family. The nest is a slight 

 hollow in the ground, sparsely lined with moss and grass. Mr. Capen 

 quotes a letter from Mr. Boardman in which he says : " Twice I have 

 found the Red Phalarope breeding in Maine." The eggs, Mr. Capen 

 says, are laid the first part of June.* They are greenish or yellowish- 

 ash, blotched and spotted with brown of various shades. The 

 eggs of this species cannot, with certainty, be distinguished from those 

 of the following species ; in fact, the range of coloration is so varied 

 that they are difi&cult to describe satisfactorily in a brief manner. 

 They are three or four in number, averaging larger than those of the 

 Northern Phalarope ; from 1.15 to 1.30 long by .90 to .95 broad. 



223. Phalaropus lobatus (Linn.) [564.] 



Northern Phalarope. 



Hab. North parts of North Hemisphere, breeding in Arctic regions; south in winter to tropical 

 regions. 



The general habits, movements and distribution of the Northern 

 Phalarope are nearly identical with those of the Red Phalarope ; com- 

 mon to both continents, and breeding in the Arctic regions of Asia, 

 Europe and America. The nesting habits are substantially the same 

 and the eggs are laid in June. The bird is also known as the Red- 

 necked Phalarope. The eggs are greenish or yellowish-ash, thickly 

 blotched with varying shades of brown ; three or four ; sizes range from 

 1. 10 to 1.30 long by .75 to .82 broad, averaging 1.20 by .80; like the last, 

 there is a great variation in size, shape and color. 



224. Phalaropus tricolor (Vieill.) [565.] 



'Wilson's Phalarope. 



Hab. Chiefly interior of temperate North America; south in winter to Brazil and Patagonia. 



Exclusively an American bird, more common in the interior than 

 along the sea coast. L,ittle information regarding its habits was ob- 

 tained by the older onithologists. Known now to breed in Northern 

 Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, Utah and Oregon. May 

 be found nesting in suitable places from these regions northward to 

 the Red River of the North and the Saskatchewan country. It is re- 

 corded as a summer resident in Northern Indiana and very likely breeds 

 in Northwestern Ohio. Mr. N. S. Goss states that he is quite confident 

 the bird occasionally breeds in Western Kansas.f 



*0ology of New England. 



f A Revised Catalogue of the Birds of Kansas, with descriptive notes of the nests and eggs of the 



