OP THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 179 



Subfamily PHALAROPIN>E.— The Phalaropes. 



The Phalaropes may be distinguished from other members of the Chara- 

 DRiiDiE by having the toes furnished with scalloped webs or lateral lobes, and 

 the planta tarsi serrated, as in the Grebes, a peculiarity, we believe, first pointed 

 out by Dr. Sharpe. The toes are united by a web at the base ; whilst the meta- 

 tarsus is scutellated before and behind. The nasal groove extends along the greater 

 part of the upper mandible. This subfamily contains but a single genus, although 

 some recent authorities have sought needlessly to split up the three known species 

 into as many genera. 



Genus PHALAROPUS, or Phalaropes. 



Type, PHALAEOPUS PULICAEIUS. 



PhalaropUS, of Brisson (1760). — The birds comprising the present genus 

 are characterised by having lateral lobes to the toes, and laterally compressed 

 metatarsi. The wings are long and pointed, the first quill the longest ; the 

 tail is short and somewhat rounded. The metatarsus is scutellated posteriorly and 

 anteriorly; the tibia just above the tarsal joint devoid of feathers. The bill is 

 moderately long and straight, depressed and weak. Nostrils basal, oval with an 

 elevated border. Toes three in front, one behind articulated. 



This genus is composed of three species confined to the northern and tem- 

 perate portions of the Palaearctic and Nearctic regions. Two species are British, 

 one of which is a local summer visitor, and the other a nomadic migrant to the 

 British Islands. 



The Phalaropes are dwellers on the sea coasts and more inland lakes and 

 tarns. They are the most aquatic of the CHARADRiiDiE, and swim well and 

 lightly, often going hundreds of miles out to sea. They are birds of powerful 

 and well-sustained flight, and walk and run with equal facility. Their notes are 

 shrill and piercing. They subsist principally on insects, crustaceans, and worms. 

 They make scanty nests on the ground, and their pyriform eggs are four in num- 

 ber and double-spotted. They are monogamous; but the males perform the 

 duties of incubation. They are more or less gregarious and social, and often 

 build in scattered colonies. 



