THE RED PHALAROPE. 291 



arched, obtuse. Plumage soft and blended; wings long and pointed, first 

 quill longest, secondary quills rather short, the inner much elongated. Tail 

 of moderate length, much rounded, of twelve feathers, the lower tail-coverts 

 as long. 



THE RED PHALAROPE. 



y-PHALAROPUS FUUCARIUS, Boiiap. 



PLATE CCCXXXIX. — Adult Male and Female in Summer, and Adult in Winter. 



My first drawing of the Red Phalarope was made at Louisville in Ken- 

 tucky, a few weeks after my removal to that place, in 1808. One afternoon, 

 while returning from the house of my hospitable friend General Croghan, 

 I observed a large flock of birds proceeding along the shores of the Ohio. 

 They were quite unknown to me, and therefore extremely anxious I was to 

 procure some of them. I therefore ran through the woods until I got ahead 

 of them, went to the margin of the river, and concealed myself at some 

 distance from them. They swam beautifully, played about, picked up sub- 

 stances floating on the water, now dispersed, and again came close together, 

 until at length coming opposite to a small sand-bar stretching out from the 

 shore to the distance of a few yards, they directed their course towards it, 

 and waded out. When just landing, they were so close to each other that I 

 could not withstand the temptation, and so levelled my gun, pulled both 

 triggers, and saw that I had made considerable havoc among them. Those 

 which had not been touched, flew off in a compact body, while the birds that 

 had been but slightly wounded made for the water, and swam away so fast 

 that they seemed to be running on the surface. I picked up seventeen, 

 which I found so beautiful and withal so plump, that I felt quite delighted, 

 and resolved to shoot as many more as I could. But I did not succeed in 

 killing more than other five that day. 



I had never until then seen a Phalarope of any kind, although I had in- 

 spected some shocking figures of these elegant birds, figures so unlike the 

 originals that even with the aid of a name printed beneath, you could not 

 recognise them. Such of my acquaintances at Louisville as had been accus- 



