102 Birds of Colorado 
Northern Phalarope. Lobipes lobatus. 
A.O.U. Checklist no 223—Colorado Records—Drew 81, p. 249; 
Morrison 88, p. 140; 89, p. 167; Cooke 97, pp. 19, 63, 199; Warren 
08, p. 20; 09, p. 18; Henderson 09, p. 227; Felger 09, p. 287. 
Description.— Female in summer—Above dark slaty, becoming dusky 
on the wings and tail; back and scapulars with a few streaks of tawny ; 
a white wing-bar ; a large rusty patch on either side of the neck nearly 
meeting below ; under-parts chiefly white; the sides of the breast and 
flanks marked with dusky; iris dark brown, bill and feet black. 
Length 7-5; wing 4-25; tail 2-0; culmen, -85; tarsus -75. 
The male is smaller and duller. In winter there is no rusty or tawny ; 
the upper-parts are grey or ashy, variegated with white edges; below 
throughout, including the forehead and a stripe above the eye, white ; 
a dusky stripe below the eye to the ear-coverts. Young birds are dusky 
above and often show buffy edges to the scapulars. 
Distribution.—Circumpolar, breeding far north in both hemispheres, 
wintering in north Africa and south Asiain the Old World. In America 
breeding from Alaska to Hudson Bay and Greenland, south in winter 
as far as Guatemala. 
In Colorado this species is only known as a migrant, passing through 
the State in May and returning in October. It crosses the mountains 
as well as the plains, and has been reported from Howardsville, 9,500 
feet, May 22nd (Drew), Middle Park, May 26th, and Breckenridge 
(Carter), Coventry and near Steamboat Springs, June Ist (Warren), 
in the mountainous half of the State; in the plains from Colorado 
Springs, May 14th and 29th (Aiken coll.), Loveland, May Ist to 9th 
(Cooke), Barr Lake, May, September (Felger) and Boulder oo. 
(Henderson). 
Habits.—The Phalaropes are all more abundant along 
the coast than inland. They swim lightly and easily, 
picking among the floating debris for their food. The male 
undertakes the chief duties of incubation, and as is 
generally the case, this habit is correlated with smaller 
size and duller markings. 
Genus STEGANOPUS. 
Bill long and slender, slightly flattened and depressed, the culmen 
about equal to the tarsus, both clearly exceeding the middle toe and 
claw ; tailshort and doubly emarginate ; toes with an even, unscalloped 
marginal web, united basally only, not beyond the first joint in the 
case of the middle and inner ones. 
