NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 131 



four In number. Five sets of four eggs each of this species are in Mr. Crandall's 

 collection. They were taken in Iceland and each set gives the following average 

 measurement: First, 1.12x.81; second, 1.17x.81; third, 1.18x.84; fourth, 1.20x.82; fifth, 

 1.21X.83. 



223. NORTHEBN PHALABOFE. Pltalaropus lohatus (Linn.) Geog. Diat.— 

 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 thbse of the Red Phalarope; common 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. Hagerup records it as breeding 

 quite generally along the coast of South Greenland. 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 1.3,0 long by .75 

 to .82 broad, averaging 1.20 by .80; like the last, there is a great variation in size, 

 shape and color. A set of four eggs from Greenland exhibit the following average 

 measurements: 1.19x.83; another set of four from the same region shows an average 

 size of 1.19X.82. These are in Mr. Crandall's collection. 



224. WILSON'S PHALAROPE. Phalaropus tricolor (Vieill.) Geog. Dist.— 

 Chiefly interior of temperate North America; south in winter to Brazil and Pata- 

 gonia. 



Exclusively an American bird, more common in the interior than along the sea 

 coast. Little information regarding its habits was obtained by the older ornitholo- 

 gists. Known now to breed in Northern Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Da- 

 kota, 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 North- 

 western Ohio. Mr. N. S. Goss states that he is quite confident the bird occasionally 

 breeds in Western Kansas.* The nesting habits of Wilson's Phalarope have been 

 carefully observed by Mr. E. W. Nelson in Northern Illinois, and his observations 

 form a veryc omplete and interesting biography of the species.f Mr. Nelson states 

 that it is the most common species in Northern Illinois, frequenting grassy marshes 

 and low prairies, and is not exceeded in numbers even by the ever-present Spotted 

 Sandpiper. "The nesting site is usually in some thin tuft of grass on a level spot, 

 but often in an open place concealed by only a few straggling blades of small oarices. 

 The male scratches a shallow depression in the soft earth, which is usually lined 

 with a thin layer of fragments of old grass blades, upon which the eggs, numbering 

 from three to four, are deposited about the last of May or first of June. Owing to 

 the low situations in which the nests are placed, the first set of eggs is often de- 

 stroyed by a heavy fall of rain, causing the water to rise so as to submerge the nest. 

 In ttiis case, the second set, numbering two or three, is often deposited in a de- 

 pression scratched in the ground, as at first, but with no sign of any lining. Acci- 

 dents of this kind cause the second set of eggs to be sometimes deposited as late as 

 the last of June." The male alone undertakes the duties of incubation. The eggs 

 are ashy-yellow, usually coarsely spotted and blotched with brown of varying shades, 

 with numerous specks and scratches; three or four in number; sizes vary from 1.20 

 to 1.35 in length by 1.60 in breadth, making them elongate pyriform in shape. 



.• A Revised Catalog-ue of the Birds of Kansas, with descriptive notes of the nests and 

 eggs" of the birds known to breed in the State. By N. S. Goss. Published under the direc- 

 tion of the Executive Council, May, 1886. Topeka: T. D. Thacher, State Printer. P. U. 

 tBull. Nutt. Club. Vol. II, pp. 38-43. 



