40 
BULLETIN OF THE NUTTALL 
first to announce the true relations of the sexes of this species. 
His statements that “ the male attends to the duties of incubation 
almost entirely alone,” and that “not only is the female much more 
brilliant in plumage, but also considerably larger,” are certainly 
true, but that the females “ pursue ” the males during the pairing- 
season seems to me to be rather doubtful, unless, as might be the 
case, Mr. Kumlieu has mistaken for this their habit of flying rest- 
lessly about the marsh in small parties of three or four individu- 
als, when the males are usually in advance. At these times the 
nearest approach I have observed to pursuit is in a habit they have 
of suddenly darting off for a short distance at right angles to their 
general course, but this appears to be in mere sport, for nearly the 
same relative positions are kept by the birds, and this erratic course 
is rarely pursued beyond a few rods. 
In fact, throughout the pairing- season I have always found the 
Phalaropes very undemonstrative toward each other, the choice of 
mates being conducted in a quiet, unobtrusive way, quite unlike 
the usual manner among birds. Neither have I ever seen the 
males “drop as if shot, within two feet of me, and feign the most 
distressing pains,” when the nest is discovered; nor even when the 
newly hatched young have been captured do they evince any such 
emotion, and at no time have I ever seen any more anxiety shown 
by the male than by the female. Mr. Kumlien describes the nest 
as being built in a tussock of grass, “much in the same manner as 
the Agelceus ‘phoeniceiis^^' which is certainly a considerable variation 
from the situations chosen by the birds in Northern Illinois, as a 
comparison of the above statement with my description of the situ- 
ation of the nest will show. 
My experience with the species has been to prove that during the 
breeding-season, at least, they are averse to any large body of wa- 
ter, and I have never found the young away from the midst of the 
grassy marshes until fully fledged. The last author before quoted, 
however, states that “the young are conducted to the shore soon 
after they are hatched, and if suddenly surprised take to the water 
and swim and dive with the greatest ease.” 
In Northern Illinois, where the following observations were made, 
Wilson’s Phalarope is the most common summer resident, occurring 
about grassy marshes and low prairies, and is not exceeded in num- 
bers by even the ever-present Spotted Sandpiper. As is the case 
with several other species of birds, Lake Michigan appears to form 
