Birdsong field guide
Red Phalarope
Phalaropus fulicarius
A stocky, pelagic shorebird notable for its reversed sexual roles and unique spinning feeding behavior. It spends the majority of its life at sea, returning to the Arctic only to breed.
What it sounds like
A sharp, metallic 'pheet' or 'wit' note, often delivered in flight.
Field notes
- Females are more brightly colored and larger than males, competing for mates and defending territories.
- The species is highly pelagic, spending up to nine months a year on the open ocean far from land.
- It feeds by swimming in rapid, tight circles to create a vertical vortex that brings small prey to the surface.
- The male is solely responsible for incubating the eggs and providing all parental care for the chicks.
- Instead of fully webbed feet, it possesses lobed toes that facilitate both swimming and walking on soft tundra.
Habitat
Arctic coastal tundra during breeding; open ocean and upwelling zones during migration and winter.
Range
Circumpolar Arctic breeding grounds; winters primarily in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans off the coasts of South America and Africa.
Similar & commonly confused birds
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