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Phalarope
Female red-necked phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) in breeding plumage
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Charadriiformes
Family:	Scolopacidae
Genus:	Phalaropus Brisson, 1760
Type species
Tringa fulicaria Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Phalaropus fulicarius Phalaropus lobatus Phalaropus tricolor
Synonyms
Steganopus

A phalarope is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus Phalaropus of the bird family Scolopacidae.

Phalaropes are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the Actitis and Terek sandpipers, and also of the turnstones and calidrids. They are especially notable for their unusual nesting behavior and their unique feeding technique.

Two species, the red or grey phalarope (P. fulicarius) and the red-necked phalarope (P. lobatus) breed around the Arctic Circle and winter on tropical oceans. Wilson's phalarope (P. tricolor) breeds in western North America and migrates to South America. All are 15–25 cm (6–10 in) in length, with lobed toes and a straight, slender bill. Predominantly grey and white in winter, their plumage develops reddish markings in summer.

Taxonomy

The genus Phalaropus was introduced by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the red phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) as the type species. The English and genus names come through French phalarope and scientific Latin Phalaropus from Ancient Greek phalaris, "coot", and pous, "foot". Coots and phalaropes both have lobed toes.

The genus contains three species:

Genus Phalarope – Brisson, 1760 – three species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Wilson's phalarope Breeding plumage Non-Breeding plumage	Phalarope tricolor (Vieillot, 1819)	North America in western Canada and the western United States.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Red-necked phalarope Breeding plumage Non-Breeding plumage	Phalarope lobatus (Linnaeus, 1758)	Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Red phalarope Breeding plumage Non-Breeding plumage	Phalarope fulicarius (Linnaeus, 1758)	Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. I	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

A fossil species, P. elenorae, is known from the Middle Pliocene 4–3 million years ago (Mya). A coracoid fragment from the Late Oligocene (23 Mya) near Créchy, France, was also ascribed to a primitive phalarope; it might belong to an early species of the present genus or a prehistoric relative. The divergence of phalaropes from their closest relatives can be dated to around that time, as evidenced by the fossil record (chiefly of the shanks) and supported by tentative DNA sequence data. Of note, the last remains of the Turgai Sea disappeared around then, and given the distribution of their fossil species, this process probably played a major role in separating the lineages of the shank-phalarope clade.

Ecology and behavior

Red and red-necked phalaropes are unusual amongst shorebirds in that they are considered pelagic, that is, they spend a great deal of their lives outside the breeding season well out to sea. Phalaropes are unusually halophilic (salt-loving) and feed in great numbers in saline lakes such as Mono Lake in California and the Great Salt Lake of Utah.

Feeding

When feeding, a phalarope often swims in a small, rapid circle, forming a small whirlpool. This behavior is thought to aid feeding by raising food from the bottom of shallow water. The bird then reaches into the center of the vortex with its bill, plucking small insects or crustaceans caught up therein. Phalaropes use the surface tension of water to capture food particles and get them to move up along their bills and into their mouths in what has been termed as a capillary ratchet.

Sexual dimorphism and reproduction

In the three phalarope species, sexual dimorphism and contributions to parenting are reversed from what is normally seen in birds. Females are larger and more brightly colored than males. The females pursue and fight over males, then defend them from other females until the male begins incubation of the clutch. Males perform all incubation and chick care, while the female attempts to find another male to mate with. If a male loses his eggs to predation, he often rejoins his original mate or a new female, which then lays another clutch. When the season is too late to start new nests, females begin their southward migration, leaving the males to incubate the eggs and care for the young. Phalaropes are uncommon among birds and vertebrates in general in that they engage in polyandry, with one female taking multiple male mates, while males mate with only one female. Specifically, phalaropes engage in serial polyandry, wherein females pair with multiple males at different times in the breeding season.

See also

• Eurasian dotterel, a species in which the male also incubates the eggs and rears the young
• Too Late the Phalarope, a novel by South African author Alan Paton

References

1. van Tuinen, Marcel; Waterhouse, David; Dyke, Gareth J. (2004). "Avian molecular systematics on the rebound: a fresh look at modern shorebird phylogenetic relationships". Journal of Avian Biology. 35 (3): 191–194. doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03362.x.
2. Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. Vol. 1, p. 50, Vol. 6, p. 12.
3. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1934). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 292.
4. "Phalarope". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
5. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 301. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Buttonquail, plovers, seedsnipe, sandpipers". World Bird List Version 9.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
7. Hugueney, Marguerite; Berthet, Didier; Bodergat, Anne-Marie; Escuillié, François; Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile; Wattinne, Aurélia (2003). "La limite Oligocène-Miocène en Limagne: changements fauniques chez les mammifères, oiseaux et ostracodes des différents niveaux de Billy-Créchy (Allier, France)" [The Oligocene-Miocene boundary in Limagne: faunal changes in the mammals, birds and ostracods from the different levels of Billy-Créchy (Allier, France)]. Geobios. 36 (6): 719–731. Bibcode:2003Geobi..36..719H. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2003.01.002.
8. Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002): Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine. Ninox Press, Prague.
9. Paton, Tara A.; Baker, Allan J.; Groth, J.G.; Barrowclough, G.F. (2003). "RAG-1 sequences resolve phylogenetic relationships within charadriiform birds". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 29 (2): 268–78. Bibcode:2003MolPE..29..268P. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00098-8. PMID 13678682.
10. Rubega, M.A.; Obst, B.S. (1993). "Surface-tension feeding in Phalaropes: Discovery of a novel-feeding mechanism" (PDF). The Auk. 110 (2): 169–178.
11. Prakash, Manu; Quéré, David; Bush, John W. M. (2008). "Surface Tension Transport of Prey by Feeding Shorebirds: The Capillary Ratchet". Science. 320 (5878): 931–934. doi:10.1126/science.1156023. ISSN 0036-8075.
12. Neuroscience, Bear, Connors, Paradiso; Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins

External links

• Phalarope videos on the Internet Bird Collection

v t e Genera of shorebirds and their extinct allies
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Infraclass: Neognathae Clade: Neoaves Order: Charadriiformes
Charadriiformes incertae sedis †Charadriisimilis †Eupterornis? †Fluviatitavis? †Jiliniornis †"Morsoravis" †Nahmavis †Palintropus? †Sarjeantopodus †Scandiavis †Volgavis? †Laornithidae? Laornis †Graculavidae? Dakotornis Graculavus Palaeotringa Telmatornis? Charadrii See below ↓ Scolopaci See below ↓ Lari See below ↓
Charadrii incertae sedis †Cherevychnavis Burhinidae Burhinus Esacus †Genucrassum Pluvianellidae Pluvianellus Chionidae Chionis †Chionoides †Neilus Pluvianidae Pluvianus Pluvianidae Vanellinae †Dolicopterus? Erythrogonys Hoploxypterus Vanellus †Viator Charadriinae Anarhynchus Charadrius †Dorypaltus Elseyornis †Jilniornis Oreopholus Peltohyas Phegornis Pluvialis Thinornis Recurvirostridae Cladorhynchus Himantopus †Kashinia Recurvirostra Ibidorhynchidae Ibidorhyncha Haematopodidae Haematopus
Scolopaci incertae sedis †Hakawai †Scolopacimilis Jacanidae Actophilornis Hydrophasianus Irediparra Jacana †Janipes Metopidius Microparra †Nupharanassa Pedionomidae †Oligonomus Pedionomus Rostratulidae Nycticryphes Rostratula Scolopacidae Actitis Arenaria Bartramia Calidris Coenocorypha †Elorius Gallinago Limnocryptes Limnodromus Limosa †Mirolia Numenius †Nuntius †Paractitis †Parvelorius Phalaropus Prosobonia Scolopax Tringa †Villetus Xenus Thinocoridae Attagis Thinocorus
Lari Alcidae †Divisulcus †Hydrotherikornis †Miocepphus †Pseudocepphus Alcinae Alcini Alca Alle †Pinguinus Uria Synthliboramphini Synthliboramphus Cepphini Cepphus Brachyramphini Brachyramphus Fraterculinae Aethiini Aethia Ptychoramphus Fraterculini Cerorhinca Fratercula †Mancallinae Alcodes Mancalla Miomancalla Praemancalla Dromadidae Dromas Glareolidae †Becassius †Boutersemia †Mioglareola †Paractiornis †"Precursor"? Glareolinae Glareola Stiltia Glareolinae Cursorius Rhinoptilus Laridae Anous Chlidonias Chroicocephalus Creagrus †Feducciavis †Gaviota Gelochelidon Gygis Hydrocoloeus Hydroprogne Ichthyaetus †Laricola Larosterna Larus Leucophaeus †Limicolavis? †Limosavis Onychoprion Pagophila Phaetusa †Pseudosterna Rhodostethia Rynchops Rissa Sterna †Sternalara Sternula Thalasseus Xema Stercorariidae Stercorarius Turnicidae †Cerestenia †Eocliffia? Ortyxelos †Turnipax Turnix

• Phalaropus
• Bird genera