General

Red-necked Phalarope: Medium-sized 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. Female is more brightly colored with darker face and smaller white throat patch. Winter adult has gray crown, eyestripe, and upperparts, and white underparts. Juvenile resembles winter adult but is browner.

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.

Breeding and Nesting

Red-necked Phalarope: Three to four buff olive eggs spotted with brown are laid in a shallow dip on marshy tundra. Nest is lined with grass and leaves. Incubation ranges from 17 to 21 days and is carried out by the male.

Foraging and Feeding

Red-necked Phalarope: Diet consists mainly of insects; forages by spinning quickly in shallow water to create a vortex, churning up tiny invertebrates.

Vocalization

Red-necked Phalarope: Call is a sharp "twit" or "whit."

Similar Species

Red-necked Phalarope: Red Phalarope is larger, darker, has a strongly striped back and blacker crown, more distinct wing stripe, and more needlelike bill; bill is yellow with a black tip in breeding season.