638 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



with festoon -like emarginations. Hind toe present. Otherwise 

 much like Calidris, but plumage much closer, thicker, furry. Tail 

 strongly rounded, middle rectrices a little elongated. Bill of 

 British species somewhat different, therefore by certain authors 

 placed in two genera, Phalaropus and Lobipes. Female brighter 

 coloured and larger, male alone incubating and caring for young. 

 Habits aquatic, mostly seen swimming, often miles out at sea. 

 Migratory. 3 species, all in arctic and subarctic latitudes, two 

 Palaearctic (circumpolar), one (also sometimes placed in separate 

 genus, Steganopus) only arctic America. 



PHALAROPUS FULICARIUS 



418. Phalaropus fulicarius (L.)— THE GREY PHALAROPE. 



Tringa Fulic aria Linn seus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, 1, p. 148 (1758 — "America.''* 



Typical locality : Hudson Bay. Ex Edwards). 



Phalaropus fulicarius (Linnasus), Yarrell, in, p. 310 ; Saunders, p. 565. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Fore-head white ; 

 crown same, feathers with imperfectly concealed ash-brown 

 bases ; blackish-grey patch on hinder crown ; nape white, centre 

 dark grey ; sides of back and rump and lateral upper tail-coverts 

 white, latter mostly irregularly streaked grey ; remaining upper- 

 parts blue -grey, feathers with darker shafts and narrowly tipped 

 white ; lower scapulars deep mouse-grey bordered white ; a small 

 blackish-grey patch in front of eye continued below eye almost to 

 nape ; rest of face white ; sides of breast blue -grey, feathers tipped 

 white ; flanks white, some with outer webs more or less pale grey, 

 or irregularly marked same ; under tail-coverts white, sometimes 

 marked j)ale grey, two long central ones blue-grey tipped white ; 

 rest of under-parts white ; tail-feathers mouse-grey with a blue- 

 grey bloom and narrowly edged white ; primaries deep mouse-grey, 

 inner webs paler shading to white, outer webs mostly bordered 

 white towards base ; secondaries deep mouse-grey with white 

 bases and tips and inner webs more or less white, 9th and 10th 

 white, in some streaked centrally pale grey ; innermost secondaries 

 and coverts as long scapulars ; wing-coverts deep mouse-grey, 

 median and lesser with blue -grey bloom, inner primary, greater 

 and median tipped white, greater broadly so. This plumage is 

 acquired by complete moult July to Dec. Summer. — Female. — 

 The body-feathers (not all scapulars), tail, innermost secondaries 

 and coverts (apparently some median and lesser coverts but none 

 actually found in quill) but not wings are moulted March to May. 

 Crown dark sepia or brown-black ; centre of nape bluish mouse - 

 grey, some feathers faintly tipped auburn ; on sides of face 

 surrounding eye a large white patch ; sides of nape auburn ; 

 feathers of mantle and scapulars brown-black, tipped and 

 more or less broadly margined cinnamon-buff and pink-buff 

 fading to pale buff as season advances ; back and rump as 



