Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Family: Sandpipers and Allies · Status: Vagrant · Size: 17–19 cm · Conservation: Least Concern

Range

Breeds throughout the northern Holarctic; winters mainly pelagically in the Arabian Sea, off western South America, and off the coasts of Philippines and Indonesia.

Identification

A small, slim-billed wader. Non-breeding adult has grey upperparts, white underparts, a black eye mask and a fine, needle-like black bill. Juvenile resemble non-breeding adult but has a dark brown to black crown, upperparts and wing coverts. Breeding female has dark head and neck with a bold red patch sweeping down the sides of the neck, white chin and eye-spot, and buff-fringed mantle forming golden stripes; breeding male duller, with paler orange replacing the red.

Habitat

Open sea, coastal marshes and mudflats.

Behaviour

Swims on the water surface, often spinning rapidly to stir up invertebrates; mostly winters in the open sea.