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Wilson's Phalarope

Phalaropus tricolor

Photo by Jellis
Published on Project Noah
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37.6688, -122.162

Field Notes

Description:

Small wading bird. So small I hardly notice it with the ducks and shorebirds. Showing mostly mute greys and white. The gets a little darker to the tail. Long straight dark bill and dark eye stripe. In Phalaropes the female has more color than the male. Part of it's behavior is to swim in circles to corral it's food. Another behavior I've seen is it followed larger shorebirds and ducks possible to help stir up food.

Habitat:

Though it's considered a wading bird, I've seen them prefer deep enough water to swim in, which for there size could be still shallow. The ones I've witnessed are found in closed ponds and marshes near the bay.

Notes:

3rd photo compares the size to the duck

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (2)
Jellis
Thank you. Difficult for me to get a good shot cause this is small and further out.
HemaShah
nice one with the water droplet at the end of the beak. I like to watch water fowl drink water. They usually drink a lot of water while preening.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Birds of the World
Photographed
PublishedAugust 31, 2013

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