PHALAROPES. 
491 
and round the head of any intruder on their domain. Geologically these birds are 
known to date from the period of the middle Miocene, remains of small species 
having been obtained from strata of that age in France; and it is not improbable 
that they date from the still older upper Eocene beds of the Paris basin. 
The three species of phalarope, two of which are met with in 
i.H6 ^naiaropes. t # 
Britain, are readily distinguished from other members of the family 
by the sides of the three front toes being provided with lobe-like expansions, some¬ 
what similar to those of the coots, and likewise by the marked lateral compression 
of the metatarsus, which is covered with scutes on both aspects. The beak is of 
medium length, straight, somewhat depressed and relatively weak, with the oval 
nostrils at its base surrounded by an elevated rim. The first toe, although small, 
is present, and a small portion of the tibia is bare. In the elongated and pointed 
wings the first quill exceeds all the 
others in length, and the short tail 
is of a somewhat rounded form. 
The plumage, like that of the 
avocets, is remarkable for its softness. 
During the breeding - season these 
birds are confined to the northern 
regions of Europe, Asia, and America, 
two being inhabitants of the circum¬ 
polar regions, while the third pertains 
to the Western Hemisphere. They 
are all more aquatic in their habits 
than any other members of the 
family, and chiefly frequent deeply 
indented coasts, although also found 
on the shores of inland lakes. In 
general appearance they approach 
the sandpipers, but they have shorter legs ; and the females are more brightly 
coloured than the males. 
The grey phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius), which is but an irregular visitor 
to the British Islands, attains a length of 8 inches, and is remarkable for the differ¬ 
ence in the colour of the winter and summer plumage of the under-parts. The 
species may be recognised at all seasons by the comparative shortness and width 
of the beak, and by the central tail-feathers exceeding the outermost in width by 
half an inch. In the breeding-plumage the whole of the under-parts are of a rich 
chestnut, and the back and rump black; but in winter most of the upper-parts, as 
well as a patch before the point of the wings, are pearly grey, while the under¬ 
parts are pure white. Breeding in the circumpolar regions locally, but nowhere 
in Continental Europe, this species occasionally visits North Africa in winter, and 
has been recorded from New Zealand and Chili. The slightly smaller red-necked 
phalarope (P. hyperboreus ), which has likewise a circumpolar distribution, although 
breeding locally in the Shetlands, Orkneys, and Outer Hebrides, may be recognised 
by the tapering and pointed beak, which (like that of the preceding) does not 
exceed an inch in length, and likewise by the smaller difference between the 
GREY PHALAROPE. 
