- Phalaropus tricolor
Identification
23 cm. (9.1 in) in length, with lobed toes and a straight fine black bill. Breeding female - grey and brown above, white underparts, red neck, reddish flank patches. Breeding male - duller version of the female, brown back, and the reddish patches reduced or absent.
Young birds- grey and brown above, white underparts, dark patch through the eye. In winter, grey above and white below, but the dark eyepatch is always present.
Distribution
North America and western Canada, wintering around the central Andes in South America.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species. It has sometimes been placed in a monotypic genus Steganopus.
Habitat
Salt water lakes.
Behaviour
3-4 eggs are laid in a ground nest near water. Once the females lay their eggs, they begin their southward migration, leaving the males to incubate the eggs. The young feed themselves.
