Sandpipers, Phalaropes

Wilson’s Phalarope, Phalaropus tricolor

Family Scolopacidae (Sandpipers, Phalaropes)

Size: 9"

Season: Summer

Habitat: Shallow pools around grassy or muddy wetlands

The Wilson’s phalarope is a thin, elegant, small shorebird with a relatively long neck and a long, needlelike black bill. Among phalaropes, the female is the more brightly colored sex. In breeding plumage the female has a gray-brown back, clean white underparts, and a pale orange-brown throat. A thin black stripe runs from the bill, across the eye, and down the neck to the back. The head has pale cheeks and a gray crown, and the legs are black. Winter plumage is pale gray above and white below, and the legs are yellow. The breeding male looks like the winter adult female, with a dark eye stripe, crown, and nape. Wilson’s phalaropes actively walk along shorelines or swim in circles to find insects or plant material. The breeding male (top) and breeding female (bottom) are illustrated.