Red-necked Phalarope

Overview

Red-necked Phalarope: Medium sandpiper with brown-striped dark gray back, mottled gray breast, and white throat and belly. Head, nape, and flanks are gray. Neck and upper breast are rust-brown. Bill is thin and black. Flight is swift and swallowlike with rapid wing beats, quick movements, and turns.

Range and Habitat

Red-necked Phalarope: Breeds in the Arctic south to James Bay, the Aleutians, and the southern tip of Greenland. Spends winters off Peru, the southern Arabian Peninsula, and Indonesia. Inhabits open ocean and beaches; found on shallow rivers, lakes, and mudflats during migration.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Red-necked Phalarope (formerly the Northern Phalarope) is the smallest of the three phalaropes and has the shortest bill.
Among Phalaropes, the female has brighter plumage, and the male incubates the eggs and cares for the young.
They have lobed toes to assist with their swimming.
A group of phalaropes has many collective nouns, including a "dopping", "swirl", "twirl", "whirl", and "whirligig" of phalaropes.

The Red-necked Phalarope is a small wader species of bird which typically breeds in Arctic regions in North America, Europe and Asia. In winter months, this species migrates south to tropical oceans, which is very unusual for this type of bird. This species feeds by swimming in circles and forming a small whirlpool in the water, thought to draw up food from the underlying water. Typical diets consist of insects and crustaceans, and they also feed at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy during migration. The conservation rating for the Red-necked Phalarope remains at Least Concern.