Wilson’s Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor

The WIPH is the largest and most land-oriented of the threephalaropes and is the only one limited to the New World.All three phalarope species have lobed toes. Phalaropes reverse the sex rolesin birds: females are larger and more brightly colored than the males and takethe lead in courtship. The females leave after egg-laying and the malesincubate the eggs and raise the young. The female in breeding plumage has alight gray crown, back, wings and tail. A broad black streak goes through theeye and down the neck blending into a reddish-brown. The legs are black. The throat,belly, sides and undertail are white. The black bill is very long and thincompared to the other phalaropes. (Photo was provided by Marv Breece).

The breeding male has gray-brown upper-partsand top of head. The neck is reddish-brown to light brown with a white throat.In winter plumage, non-breeding, both have light gray upperparts and yellowlegs. In flight, the upper wings are gray with no wing-stripes and a whitishrump. Both other phalaropes show a white wing streak in flight. The WIPH is abird of inland waters: shallow prairie lakes, fresh marshes, mudflats, and it nestsmostly on the northern Great Plains. In Washington state, thebirds are a fairly common late spring and early fall migrant, and nest ineastern WA. Their voice is a low, muffled, nasal grunting or moaning usually inflight on the breeding grounds. Huge numbers may gather in the fall on somesalty lakes in the west like Mono Lake, and Great Salt Lake, before migrating to South America.

Thephalaropes forage mostly while swimming, picking  aquatic insects, flies , larvae, beetles,etc., from the surface of the water or just below it.  They often spin in circles in shallow waterto stir the water up and bring food closer to the surface. The nest is usuallybuilt in shallow freshwater marshes in open country and is generally on groundnear water; it is sometimes a couple of inches above ground in marsh plants. Atypical nest is a shallow depression with a slight lining of vegetation. Thefemale takes part in choosing the nest site, but the male finishes the nest.The male incubates the 3-4 brown-blotched, buff colored eggs for 22-25 days andtakes care of the young which fledge in about 20 days. . The male may try tolure predators away from the nest or young by doing a broken-wing act.