Family PHALAROPODIDAE, Phalaropes (continued 2)

The movements of the birds usually render it an easy matter to decide whether or not they have nests in the immediate vicinity. After the first alarm, those having nests at a distance disperse, while the others take their course in the form of an ellipse, sometimes several hundred yards in length, with the object of their suspicion in the center; and, with long strokes of their wings, much like the flight of a killdeer, they move back and forth. As their nests are approached the length of their flight is gradually lessened, until at last they are joined by the males, when the whole party hover low over the intruder's head, uttering their peculiar note of alarm. At this time they have an ingenious mode of misleading the novice, by flying off to a short distance and hovering anxiously over a particular spot in the marsh, as though there were concealed the objects of their solicitation. Should they be followed, however, and a search be there made, the maneuver is repeated in another place still farther from the real location of the nest. But should this ruse prove unavailing, they return and seem to become fairly desperate, flying about one's head almost within reach, manifesting great distress.

Aretas A. Saunders writes to me that, in Teton County, Mont., they nest in small colonies in grassy marshes, where alkaline soil prevents the grass, mainly species of Carex and Juncus, from growing tall.

Eggs.—The Wilson phalarope almost invariably lays four eggs, rarely only three. The shapes vary from ovate pyriform to ovate and there is a slight gloss. The ground colors vary from "cartridge buff" to "cream buff," rarely "chamois." The ground color is generally well concealed by numerous markings, more or less evenly distributed. Some eggs are uniformly covered with small spots and dots, but more often these are mixed with a few larger, irregular blotches. An occasional handsome set is boldly and very heavily blotched, sometimes almost concealing the ground color. The markings are usually in very dark, brownish black or blackish brown. In some handsome sets these dark markings are mixed with "bay" and "auburn" markings. The measurements of 57 eggs average 33 by 23.4 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 36.2 by 23.7, 33 by 25.1, 30 by 22.5 and 30.5 by 22 millimeters.

Young.—The period of incubation does not seem to be known. I can find no evidence that the female ever takes any part in it, but that she does not lose interest in her family is plainly shown by her demonstrations of anxiety when the nest is approached; probably she feels responsible for the faithful performance of his duties by her demure spouse. The male broods over the newly hatched young, protecting them from rain, or excessive heat or cold. But they are soon able to run about in a lively manner and care for themselves. Doctor Nelson (1877) writes that "the young have a fine, wiry peep, inaudible beyond a few feet." I believe that the young remain in the grassy meadows, where they can hide in safety, and do not take to the water until they are fully fledged.

Plumages.—In its natal down the young Wilson phalarope is entirely unlike the other phalaropes and quite different from any other young wader. The slender bill and long slender legs and feet are characteristic. It is prettily and distinctively colored also. The prevailing color of the upper parts and of a band across the chest is "ochraceous buff," deepening on the crown, wings, and mantle almost to "ochraceous orange," and paling to buffy or grayish white on the belly and to pure white on the chin and throat. There is a narrow, median, black line on the crown extending nearly or quite to the bill; this is continued in a broad, more or less broken, black stripe down the center of the back to a large black patch on the rump; a black spot on each side of the crown, one on the occiput and several more on wings, thighs, and sides of the back, sometimes run together to form stripes.

In fresh juvenal plumage, in July, the feathers of the crown, back, scapulars, tertials, and all wing coverts are dusky or nearly black, broadly edged with "light pinkish cinnamon" or "cinnamon buff," broadest and brightest on the scapulars; the under parts are white, but the throat, sides of the breast and flanks are washed with "pinkish buff," and the last two are mottled with dusky; the central tail feathers are broadly edged with "pinkish buff," bordered inwardly with a broad dusky band, surrounding a white area, with a dusky central streak invading it; the other tail feathers are similarly marked, but less completely patterned.

This plumage is worn for only a short time, as the body plumage and tail are molted during the last half of July and in August. By September young birds are in first winter plumage, which is like that of the adult, except that the entire juvenal wing is retained with the buff edgings faded out to white. The sexes are alike in juvenal and all winter plumages. A partial prenuptial molt in the spring, involving the body plumage and most, if not all, of the wing coverts and scapulars, makes the young bird practically adult.

Adults have a partial prenuptial molt in April and May, involving the tail, the wing coverts and all the body plumage, which produces the well-known brilliant plumage of the female and the duller plumage of the male. The complete postnuptial molt in summer produces the gray winter plumage in both sexes, in which the crown, back, and scapulars are "light drab" or "drab-gray," with narrow white edgings, and the upper tail coverts, as well as the under parts, are white. The sexes can be recognized in adult winter plumage by size only.

Food.—The other two species of phalaropes feed mainly on the water, but the Wilson phalarope is more of a shore bird and obtains most of its food while walking about on muddy shores or wading in shallow water. It does, however, adopt the whirling tactics of the others occasionally, concerning which Mr. Dawson (1923) says:

Instead of swinging from side to side with a rhythmical motion, as do the reds and northerns, the Wilson whirls all the way around. Moreover, he keeps on whirling, and though he pauses for the fraction of a second to inspect his chances, he goes on and on again like an industrious, mad clock. One bird which I had under the binoculars turned completely around 247 times in one spot, without stopping save for instantaneous dabs at prey. These dabs were directed forward or backward, i. e., with or against the direction of the body motion. A single gyration normally contains two such minute pauses, accompanied by a hitching motion of the head; and these are evidently the periods of maximum attention, since they are followed by, or rather flow into, the prey stroke, if game is sighted. "Game" is not always abundant nor certain, and I have seen a bird whirl a dozen times without a single stroke.

The method of feeding on mud flats or in shallow water is well described by Roland C. Ross (1924), as follows:

When feeding along the shallows with least, western, and red-backed sandpipers, they differed from them not only in size and color, but in their habit of steady, energetic walking and the constant "side sweeping" with the bill. Occasionally they picked objects from the surface with their needle bills, but this was not very actively pursued. In deeper water they fed among the northern phalaropes, knots, and dowitchers, wading along until they swam in places. However, they were able to wade where the northern swam. At such depths they feed with the head clear under and the energy of the feeding operation was indicated by the motion of the tail. They commonly walked steadily back and forth through the deeper sections of the ponds, and in such deep places they moved as headless bodies, evidently feeding as usual in the surface mud. From the vigorous side moves of the tail it would seem they were feeding in their usual manner as well; that is, "side sweeping." When the birds were standing to feed in the deeper places the tail was again much in evidence, and indicated the manner of feeding. This would seem to be a probing motion performed with some rapid vibration which was communicated to the tail as a series of quivers. It is rather a droll sight, and arresting as well, to see a certain area marked out by headless gray bodies buried in the water up to the bend of the wing, the vibrating tail indicating the vigorous operations being carried on down below. It seemed their best feeding was in the deeper waters.

The feeding habits of this and the other phalaropes are almost wholly beneficial. They live very largely on the larvae of mosquitoes. They also eat crane-fly larvae, which are often very destructive in grass lands and wheat fields. Predaceous diving beetles, which are a nuisance in fish hatcheries, are eaten by them. Dr. Alexander Wetmore's (1925) analysis of the contents of 106 stomachs showed that the food of the Wilson phalarope is mainly insects, of which various flies made up 43.1 per cent, aquatic bugs 24.4 per cent and beetles 20.1 per cent. The remainder of the food included brine shrimps, amphipods, eggs of water fleas, and seeds of various aquatic plants.

Behavior.—Much of the interesting behavior of the Wilson phalaropes has been described under different headings above. In all its movements it is light, airy and graceful. Its flight is much like that of the lesser yellow legs, with which it is often associated; but, when suddenly alarmed, it sometimes flies hurriedly away in a zigzag fashion. On its breeding grounds it often hovers, almost motionless in the air, as the upland plover sometimes does. It swims lightly and buoyantly, but apparently does not dive. It walks about on land actively and daintily, where it is said to resemble the solitary sandpiper. It mingles freely on its feeding grounds with various other species of shore birds. Toward the close of the nesting season the females become very gregarious; as early as June 18, in southern Alberta, we saw them in large flocks, mixed with lesser yellow legs, flying about the marshy lakes.

Voice.—The only note I have recorded is a soft, nasal grunt or subdued quack. Dr. Walter P. Taylor (1912) describes a peculiar nuptial (?) call note "as oit, oit, oit, somewhat resembling the croak of a toad during the breeding season. At the instant of utterance of the note the bird which is calling raises its head somewhat, pauses momentarily in its flight, and its throat bulges slightly." Mr. Saunders calls it a low note sounding like croo, croo, croo.

E. S. Cameron (1907) writes:

The Wilson's phalaropes, both when feeding and when disturbed and circling on the wing, constantly uttered a low croaking, which at close quarters might be compared to the much louder note of the sandhill cranes, or, at a distance, to the faintly heard barking of a dog. On the other hand, I have heard them give a shrill and totally different call of indecision or satisfaction on their first arrival when hovering over a pool.

Field marks.—The Wilson is larger than the other phalaropes and has a longer bill, neck, and legs. It can be distinguished from other shore birds by its needlelike bill and small head and by the absence of white in its wings. Its spring plumage is, of course, well marked and very beautiful. John T. Nichols gives me the following field characters:

Very rare, but apparently regular on the south shore of Long Island in southward migration; those that I have known of have all been in pale gray and white plumage occurring singly about the marshes in flocks of the lesser yellow legs. Little smaller than that species, they are to be picked out in a flock of same at once by their much paler color. In alighting such a bird may swim on puddles of water between the stubble where the others are wading. At short range the long, straight, very slender bill and indications of a curved "phalarope" mark on the neck, backward and downward from the eye, are to be looked for. Large size and long, very slender bill should prevent confusion of this with other phalaropes in the field in any plumage.

Fall.—As soon as the young are able to care for themselves the males join the flocks of females and they all depart on their fall migration in August. Some individuals wander eastward to the Atlantic coast, but the main flight is southward along both coasts of Mexico to their winter home in Argentina, Chile, and Patagonia.

DISTRIBUTION

Range.—North and South America.

Breeding range.—The breeding range of Wilson's phalarope extends north to Washington (Bumping Lake); Alberta (Alix, Buffalo Lake, and Edmonton); Saskatchewan (Osler, Quill Lake, and Indian Head); Manitoba (Moose Mountain, Brandon, and Shoal Lake); North Dakota (Pembina); Minnesota (probably Leech Lake); Michigan (St. Clair Flats); and southern Ontario (Dunnville). East to southern Ontario (Dunnville); northern Indiana (Lake County); northern Illinois (West Northfield, Fox River, and Calumet Marshes); and formerly Missouri (Pierce). South to Indiana (Whiting); Missouri (formerly Pierce); rarely southern Kansas (Meade County); Colorado (Sterling, Barr, and San Luis Valley); southwestern Wyoming (Fort Bridger); northern Utah (Salt Lake City); Nevada (Washoe Lake); and California (Tahoe Lake and Los Banos). West to California (Los Banos, Lassen County, and Tule Lake); Oregon (Klamath Lake); and Washington (Conconully and Bumping Lake). It also has been reported in summer from southern California (Furnace Creek and Tulare Lake) and from central Mexico (Lerma).

Winter range.—The winter range of the Wilson phalarope is very imperfectly known. The few records available come chiefly from South America, but it also has been reported as wintering in Mexico (Mayorazgo, Ixtapalapa, and the City of Mexico); rarely southern Texas (Corpus Christi); and in southern California (Riverside). South American specimens have been taken or observed at this season in the Falkland Islands; Patagonia (Chupat); Argentina (Mendoza, Buenos Aires, Tucuman, Barracas al Sud, and Missiones); Chile (Valdivia); Bolivia (Alto Paraguay); Peru (Ingapirca); and Brazil (Caicara).

Spring migration.—Early dates of spring arrival are: Missouri, St. Louis, April 22, Corning, April 23, Independence, May 1, and Marionville, May 2; Illinois, Quincy, April 20, Chicago, April 21, Liter, April 27, Fernwood, May 1, and South Englewood, May 3; Indiana, Waterloo, April 27, and Kouts, April 30; Michigan, Ann Arbor, April 1, Detroit, May 1, and Iron Mountain, May 2; Ontario, Toronto, May 25; Iowa, Emmetsburg, April 24, Gilbert Station, April 27, Marshalltown, May 2, Sioux City, May 5, and Keokuk, May 6; Wisconsin, Delavan, April 26, North Freedom, April 29, and Whitewater, May 6; Minnesota, Heron Lake, May 8, Wilder, May 8, Hallock, May 9, and Waseca, May 12; northern Texas, Gainesville, May 6, and Huntsville, May 7; Kansas, Emporia, April 23, Paola, April 28, Onaga, April 29, and Wichita, April 30; Nebraska, Dunbar, April 5, Badger, April 18, Callaway, April 19, Lincoln, April 22, and Valentine, May 1; South Dakota, Harrison, April 29, Vermilion, April 29, Forestburg, May 1, Pitrodie, May 3, and Huron, May 4; North Dakota, Menoken, May 1, Bismarck, May 3, Charlson, May 4, Antler, May 10, Cando, May 17, and Westhope, May 18; Manitoba, Oak Lake, April 27, Shoal Lake, May 7, Reaburn, May 16, and Winnipeg, May 22; Saskatchewan, Indian Head, May 12, Dinsmore, May 13, and Osier, May 19; New Mexico, Albuquerque, April 20, and Aragon, April 21; Arizona, Tucson, April 12; Colorado, Denver, April 25, Durango, April 25, Loveland, April 27, Boulder, May 3, and Salida, May 4; Wyoming, Lake Como, May 6, near Cokeville, May 7, Yellowstone Park, May 11, and Cheyenne, May 19; Idaho, Meridian, May 14; Montana, Billings, April 30, Great Falls, May 9, Fort Keogh, May 10, Big Sandy, May 14, and Terry, May 21; Alberta, Beaverhill Lake, May 7, Alliance, May 18, Veteran, May 22, and Stony Plain, May 23; California, Santa Barbara, April 26, Unlucky Lake, April 28, and Stockton, May 2; Nevada, Steptoe Valley, May 12, Washoe Lake, May 19, and Quinn River, May 20; and Oregon, Klamath Lake, April 30, Narrows, May 1, and Lawen, May 20.

Fall migration.—Late dates of fall departure are: Oregon, Malheur Lake, September 5; California, Santa Barbara, September 8, and near San Francisco, September 9; Montana, Milk River, July 21, and Great Falls, August 15; Utah, Great Salt Lake, September 16; Wyoming, Seven-mile Lake, September 14, and Yellowstone Park, September 27; Colorado, Denver, September 12; Arizona, Fort Verde, September 7; Saskatchewan, Ravine Bank, August 25; North Dakota, Grafton, September 11, and Westhope, September 24; South Dakota, Forestburg, August 13, Harrison, September 12, and Sioux Falls, October 14; Nebraska, Badger, August 30, and Gresham, September 1; Kansas, Emporia, August 31; Texas, Tivoli, September 14, and Corsicana, September 12; Minnesota, Lanesboro, September 13; Michigan, Kalamazoo County, September 8; and Ontario, near Toronto, September 23.

Casual records.—Although essentially a western species the Wilson phalarope has many times been detected in eastern localities. Among these are: Alabama, Bayou la Batre, September 5, 1911; South Carolina, Sullivans Island, September 7, 1910; North Carolina, near Church Island, August 25, 1910, and Currituck Light House, September 14, 1911; New Jersey, Ocean City, May 19, 1898, and Cape May, May 4, 1909; New York, Mastic, September 21, 1918, and August 23, 1920, Shinnecock, August 20, 1883, and August 15, 1885, Far Rockaway, October 10, 1874, East River, October 15, 1879, Onondaga Lake, September 2, 1886, Oneida Lake, October 6, 1883, Ithaca, fall of 1892, Atlanticville, August 15, 1885, and June 1, 1887, and Bronx Park, September 21, 1924; Connecticut, Bridgeport (Linsley); Rhode Island, Newport, August 2, 1880, August 20, 1883 and September 13, 1886, Sakonnet, August 24, 1899, and Quonochontaug, August 28, 1909; Massachusetts, Chatham, October 19, 1888, Nantucket, August 31, 1889, Nahant, May, 1874, Salisbury and Boston (Townsend); New Hampshire, Rye Beach, August 15, 1872; Maine, Sabattus Pond, September or October, 1906, and Scarborough, June 9, 1881; and Quebec, Montreal, August, 1869. It also has been taken in British Columbia, Chilliwack, September 9, 1888, and Osoyoos Lake, May 15, 1922 and May 18, 1922. It has been detected a few times in Lower California, La Paz (date?), and San Jose del Cabo, one in spring and another in August, 1887.

Egg dates.—Saskatchewan and Alberta: 51 records, May 16 to June 24; 26 records, June 5 to 11. Dakotas: 23 records, May 25 to June 22; 12 records, June 3 to 12. Colorado and Utah: 20 records, May 15 to July 10; 10 records, May 25 to June 8. California: 50 records, May 21 to June 22; 25 records, June 2 to 7.