PHALAEOPUS. 



337 



their feet. The Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius), being the Phalaropus phalaropus 

 of Brisson, is the type of the genus. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 



(during the breeding-season). 



Pal^arcttc Region. 



North-west. 



, North-east. 



P. fulicarius ....-< Nearctic Region. 



[ North. 



P. wilsoni Central. 



P. HYPERBOREUS. 



The genus Phalaropus, though it only contains three species, is not exclusively Arctic. Climatic dis- 

 The distribution of each of the three species is somewhat peculiar ; during the breeding- n u 10n ' 

 season it is as follows : — 



Arctic Circumpolar .... 

 Arctic America and East Asia . 

 Arctic species . . 

 Temperate North America . 



Temperate species 

 Species of Phalaropus 



1 



1 



— 2 

 1 



— 1 



— 3 



Although the Phalaropes are more aquatic in their habits than any other birds 

 belonging to this family, they can scarcely be regarded as shore birds. As might be 

 inferred from the structure of their feet and the character of their plumage, they swim 

 with the greatest ease, but they prefer small lakes and pools to the sea. 



There is every reason to suppose that P. wilsoni represents the descendants of the 

 Phalaropes which escaped from the Arctic ice down the great chain of lakes which lie 

 between Hudson's Bay and the Rocky Mountains. The routes taken by the ancestors of 

 P. hyperhoreus and P. fulicarius are not so easy to determine, as both these species are 

 now circumpolar. The rareness of the latter species in Europe suggests the idea that the 

 ancestors of P. hyperboreus were isolated in the basin of the Mediterranean, and those of 

 P. fulicarius in Southern Asia. It is, however, very possible that the latter species was 

 isolated in the North Pacific Ocean, where it may have frequented the islands on both 

 coasts, as it is much more maritime in its habits than either of its congeners. 



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