Charadriiformes / Scolopacidae / Phalaropus
Red-necked Phalarope
Phalaropus lobatus · 红颈瓣蹼鹬
Introduction
A small wader in the genus Phalaropus, breeding in Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory and unusually winters at sea on tropical oceans. The species is monotypic with no recognized subspecies.
Description
Approximately 18 cm (7.1 in) in length with lobed toes and a straight, fine bill. Breeding females are predominantly dark grey above, with a chestnut neck and upper breast, black face, white throat, and a white wing stripe. Breeding males are a duller version of the female. Young birds are grey and brown above with buff underparts and a black patch through the eye. Winter plumage is essentially grey above and white below, retaining the black eyepatch.
Identification
Distinguished from similar Wilson's phalarope by a white wing stripe. Key field marks include lobed toes, a straight fine bill, and a persistent black eyepatch in winter plumage. Vocalizations include a sharp call described as a whit or twit.
Distribution & Habitat
Breeds in Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. Winters at sea on tropical oceans. In Britain and Ireland, it is a rare breeding species, primarily in Shetland (especially Fetlar), Outer Hebrides, and occasionally Scottish Mainland and western Ireland. Tracking data indicates some European populations may migrate via the Atlantic to winter off Ecuador and Peru.
Behavior & Ecology
Females are larger than males, pursue mates, and defend them until incubation begins. Males perform all incubation (approx. 20 days) and chick-rearing; females may lay multiple clutches. Nests are grass-lined depressions on mounds with usually four splotchy olive-buff eggs. Chicks are precocial and fly within 20 days. Feeding involves swimming in rapid circles to create whirlpools that raise insects and crustaceans from shallow water. On open oceans, they frequent upwellings and tidal action zones.
Conservation
The species is covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
- Genus
- Phalaropus
Distribution
breeds mostly low Arctic tundra from southern Greenland and Iceland eastward to Kamchatka, Kuril, and Commander islands, and Aleutians through Canada; winters off coasts of Indian Ocean from Arabian Sea eastward through Indonesian Archipelago and in Pacific to New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago and western Mexico to Peru and Galapagos
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.
