RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. 133 



its head in the liquid element in search of insect food, 

 on which it subsists and thrives excellently ; the small 

 soft worms that exist in such great numbers about sea- 

 weeds, seem the chief prey of the Red-necked Phalarope ; 

 on the sea shores it likewise looks for them among the 

 sea-weeds : flies and gnats that hover over the surface of 

 the water, or wet ground, it also greedily consumes. 



A very remarkable circumstance is recorded by a con- 

 tinental ornithologist, M. Faber, who states that he has 

 seen the present species swim on the surface of some of 

 the hot springs in pursuit of insects, where the temperature 

 of the water was such that he could not keep his hand 

 in it. 



The reproduction of the species takes place in high 

 northern latitudes, on the shores and banks of inland seas, 

 lakes, ponds, &c, not only in flat situations, but among 

 the hilly parts ; like the sandpipers they lay their eggs, 

 four in number, in a hollow among the short vegetation 

 of the place, or beside a small tuft of herbage ; the nest is 

 very carelessly lined with a few blades of grass, &c. ; these 

 birds appear very much attached to each other, and after- 

 wards equally so to their young brood, but, like many other 

 birds, the males constantly fight for the possession of a 

 chosen spot, although the nests are seldom far apart. 



The dimensions of the Red-necked Phalarope are much 

 less than those of the foregoing species, the female is, how- 

 ever, the larger bird in both ; its entire length is seven 

 inches, the wing, from the carpus to the tip, four inches 

 three lines ; the beak ten lines and a half. 



This species is very expert in swimming, and its flight 

 is quick and strong. On the ground its course is graceful 

 and animated, very elegant, and much like that of the sand- 

 pipers. 



M 3 



