The Wilson Phalarope 
No. 231 
Wilson’s Phalarope 
A. 0 . U. No. 224. Steganopus tricolor Vieillot. 
Description. — Adult female in summer: Top of head and upper back pearl- 
gray; nape and upper tail-coverts white; a white supraloral line, and a narrow patch 
of white below eye; a black stripe, starting from before eye, passes backward, 
becoming broader on side of neck, changes to deep chestnut on hind-neck, and, 
continuing backward over shoulder, is interrupted and dispersed over the scapulars; 
rump and wings grayish brown, the latter with a very little white edging; tail still 
lighter brown; a reddish brown wash across throat and chest and sometimes sides, as 
though the coloring matter of the hind-neck had “run”; remaining underparts pure 
white. Bill black; feet brownish. Adult male in summer: Similar to female but 
smaller, lacking the pearl-gray and chestnut,—slaty-gray and rusty instead; general 
appearance of back and wings brownish gray, with blackish centers of feathers and some 
ochraceous edging; black on sides of head and neck almost obsolete; rufous tinge of 
chest very slight; sides of breast and sides grayish brown. Adults in winter: Above 
plain ash-gray; upper tail-coverts, superciliary stripe, and lower parts white, the 
chest and sides of breast shaded with pale gray. Young: “Top of head, back, and scap¬ 
ulars dusky blackish, the feathers distinctly bordered with buff; wing-coverts also 
bordered with pale buff or whitish; upper tail-coverts, superciliary stripe, and lower 
parts white, the neck tinged with buff” (Ridgw.). Measurements—average of 6 
females from Modoc Co. and Humboldt Co., Nevada: length (skins) 238.6 (9.40); 
wing 130.6 (5.12); bill 33.5 (1.32); tarsus 32.6 (1.28). Av. of 6 males from the same 
localities: length (skins) 218 (8.59); wing 120 (4.73); bill 30.3 (1.19); tarsus 31.9 (1.256). 
Recognition Marks. —Towhee to robin size; pearl-gray, chestnut, and black 
in masses distinctive in adult female. This bird superficially resembles the preceding 
in some of its plumage; its larger size and especially longer bill and larger feet, as well 
as really different color pattern, should be noted. 
Nesting. — Nest: A rude platform of bent grasses buried in grass on damp 
ground or near water. Eggs: 3 or 4; pointed ovate, pale to deep olive-buff, usually 
with a yellowish tinge, i. e., inclined toward clay-color, spotted finely and heavily 
with black or brownish black—or, rarely, warm sepia. Av. of 27 eggs in M. C. O. 
coll.: 31.75 x 23.1 (1.25 x .91); index 72.8. Season: May; one brood. 
General Range. —Temperate North America, chiefly west of the Great Lakes, 
south in winter to Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. Breeds from northern 
Washington, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, south to central California, 
southern Colorado, southern Kansas, and northwestern Indiana. Appears in eastern 
states and Canadian provinces during migrations, and upon the Pacific Coast from 
southern British Columbia. Winters south of the United States and through South 
America. 
Distribution in California. —Fairly common spring and fall migrant at suitable 
stations, and appearing coastwise from Santa Barbara south. Breeds sparingly east 
of the Sierras from Bishop in Owens Valley north to Goose Lake and west to Klamath 
Lakes; also in the Los Banos section. 
1184 
