The Wilson Phalarope 



No. 231 



Wilson's Phalarope 



A. 0. U. No. 224. Steganopus tricolor Vieillot. 



Description. — Adult female in summer: Top of head and upper back pearl- 

 gray; nape and upper tail-coverts white; a white supraloral line, and a narrow patch 

 of white below eye; a black stripe, starting from before eye, passes backward, 

 becoming broader on side of neck, changes to deep chestnut on hind-neck, and, 

 continuing backward over shoulder, is interrupted and dispersed over the scapulars; 

 rump and wings grayish brown, the latter with a very little white edging; tail still 

 lighter brown; a reddish brown wash across throat and chest and sometimes sides, as 

 though the coloring matter of the hind-neck had "run"; remaining underparts pure 

 white. Bill black; feet brownish. Adult male in summer: Similar to female but 

 smaller, lacking the pearl-gray and chestnut, — slaty-gray and rusty instead; general 

 appearance of back and wings brownish gray, with blackish centers of feathers and some 

 ochraceous edging; black on sides of head and neck almost obsolete; rufous tinge of 

 chest very slight; sides of breast and sides grayish brown. Adults in winter: Above 

 plain ash-gray; upper tail-coverts, superciliary stripe, and lower parts white, the 

 chest and sides of breast shaded with pale gray. Young: "Top of head, back, and scap- 

 ulars dusky blackish, the feathers distinctly bordered with buff; wing-coverts also 

 bordered with pale buff or whitish; upper tail-coverts, superciliary stripe, and lower 

 parts white, the neck tinged with buff" (Ridgw.). Measurements — average of 6 

 females from Modoc Co. and Humboldt Co., Nevada: length (skins) 238.6 (9.40); 

 wing 130.6 (5.12); bill 33.5 (1.32); tarsus 32.6 (1.28). Av. of 6 males from the same 

 localities: length (skins) 218 (8.59); wing 120 (4.73); bill 30.3 (1.19); tarsus 31.9 (1.256). 



Recognition Marks. — Towhee to robin size; pearl-gray, chestnut, and black 

 in masses distinctive in adult female. This bird superficially resembles the preceding 

 in some of its plumage; its larger size and especially longer bill and larger feet, as well 

 as really different color pattern, should be noted. 



Nesting. — Nest: A rude platform of bent grasses buried in grass on damp 

 ground or near water. Eggs: 3 or 4; pointed ovate, pale to deep olive-buff, usually 

 with a yellowish tinge, i. e., inclined toward clay-color, spotted finely and heavily 

 with black or brownish black — or, rarely, warm sepia. Av. of 27 eggs in M. C. O. 

 coll.: 31.75 x 23.1 (1.25 x .91); index 72.8. Season: May; one brood. 



General Range. — Temperate North America, chiefly west of the Great Lakes, 

 south in winter to Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. Breeds from northern 

 Washington, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, south to central California, 

 southern Colorado, southern Kansas, and northwestern Indiana. Appears in eastern 

 states and Canadian provinces during migrations, and upon the Pacific Coast from 

 southern British Columbia. Winters south of the United States and through South 

 America. 



Distribution in California. — Fairly common spring and fall migrant at suitable 

 stations, and appearing coastwise from Santa Barbara south. Breeds sparingly east 

 of the Sierras from Bishop in Owens Valley north to Goose Lake and west to Klamath 

 Lakes; also in the Los Banos section. 



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