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Wilson's Phalarope

Phalaropus tricolorOrder: CHARADRIIFORMES Family: Sandpipers (Scolopacidae)
Codes: Common Name: WIPH Scientific Name: PHATRI ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176736
Least Concern
 
Wilson's Phalarope
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Overview

Wilson's Phalarope: Medium sandpiper, gray-brown upperparts, red-brown streaks on back, shoulders. White underparts with red-brown markings on upper sides. Gray crown, white face, black eye-line that continues down neck. Black needle-like bill. Gray wings with dark flight feathers. White tail, rump.

Range and Habitat

Wilson's Phalarope: Breeds in wetlands scattered throughout interior western North America and winters in South America. Preferred habitats include grassy borders of shallow lakes, marshes, reservoirs, and inland saltwater lakes. Found in inland saline lakes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru during winter.

Topo Map: Sandpiper-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"work work"

Interesting Facts

 A group of phalaropes has many collective nouns, including a "dopping", "swirl", "twirl", "whirl", and "whirligig" of phalaropes.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Wilson's Phalarope

Related Birds

Dunlin
Upland Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
Red Phalarope
Northern Jacana
.
Family Sandpiper (Scolopacidae)_blue
Species Phalaropus tricolor
Length8 - 9 Inches
Wingspan15 Inches

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope: Medium sandpiper, gray-brown upperparts, red-brown streaks on back, shoulders. White underparts with red-brown markings on upper sides. Gray crown, white face, black eye-line that continues down neck. Black needle-like bill. Gray wings with dark flight feathers. White tail, rump.

● Song: "work work"

● Foraging & Feeding: Wilson's Phalarope: Feeds on larvae of mosquitoes and crane flies, brine shrimp, and seeds of various aquatic plants. Generally forages by probing mud with its bill; also forages while swimming, sometimes in circles to create a vortex, bringing small invertebrates to the surface.

● Breeding & nesting: Wilson's Phalarope: Four buff eggs with brown blotches are laid in a ground scrape lined with fine grass. Incubation ranges from 18 to 21 days and is carried out by the male.

● Similar species: Wilson's Phalarope: Red-necked Phalarope has dark head and back. Lesser Yellowlegs has yellow legs and streaked underparts.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Wilson's Phalarope Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Wilson's Phalarope: Breeds in wetlands scattered throughout interior western North America and winters in South America. Preferred habitats include grassy borders of shallow lakes, marshes, reservoirs, and inland saltwater lakes. Found in inland saline lakes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru during winter.
BreedingLoose colonies, May be polygamous
PopulationDeclining slightly, Abundant to very common
MigrationMigratory
Weight2.4 Ounces
Sandpiper-like BodyX
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
CrownX
The crown is the top part of the birds head.
FaceX
The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.
Flight feathersX
Located on the wing, and collectively called remiges (singular, remex). The long stiff feathers are subdivided into two major groups based on the location and are called primaries and secondaries.
RumpX
The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX