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Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) Alternate name(s): "Grey Phalarope" German name(s): "Thorshühnchen" Size: 20-22 cm; wing span: 37-44 cm Body mass: 30-77 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.30-0.35

Europe: Family Group 9 Family Group 9 Table Red Phalarope Red-necked Phalarope Eurasian Stone-curlew Black-winged Stilt Pied Avocet Collared Pratincole Eurasian Oystercatcher Common Ringed Plover Little Ringed Plover Kentish Plover Grey Plover European Golden Plover Eurasian Dotterel Sociable Lapwing Northern Lapwing Spur-winged Lapwing Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Red Phalaropes are small, relatively short-legged waders. During the breeding season their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Females in breeding plumage have white sides to the head that are bordered by a dark-grey chin, frons, cap and hindneck. The sides of the neck and the entire front are rust-red. Male Red Phalaropes are paler and have less colour contrast than females, with less white on the sides of the head and a paler brown front with some creamy barring. Both sexes have black wing feathers with wide buff edges. In eclipse the two sexes are alike. The head is white, except for black bars on the ear coverts and a black hindcap and hindneck. The front is white, while the upperparts are plain grey. The irises are dark, while the short, straight and strong bill is dark-grey in eclipse. It changes colour during the breeding season. In males the front half remains dark, while the base turns yellow, while in females most of the bill turns yellow, with only a small dark tip remaining. The rather short legs and feet are greenish-grey. Juveniles have a buff wash on the breast and black and buff streaking on cap, nape of the neck and back. The upperwings are similar to those of adults in breeding plumage. In the transition from juvenile to first-winter plumage they lose most of the buff wash, except some on the sides of the neck, while the upperparts start to turn light-grey.

Taxonomy, classification See Red Phalarope at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Red Pharalope is available HERE . Red Pharalopes are a strongly migratory species. Their breeding range is inside the Arctic circle, encompassing the northern coastline of Siberia and the southern tip of Yuzhny Island, the northern coastal regions of North America (Alaska and Canada, including the northern half of the Hudson Bay), parts of the eastern and western coastline of Greenland, and parts of Svalbard in northern Europe. They overwinter in the southern Atlantic and thee southern Pacific, spending most of the time on the open oceans. They are also found in coastal habitats in southern South America, southern West Africa and western South Africa. During their migration they usually prefer coastal routes, but they can occasionally also be found inland, e.g. in central Europe and North America. In Europe Red Phalaropes are summer breeding migrants to parts of Svalbard. During their migration they can occasionally be found primarily along the coastlines of the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and of the northern Atlantic. Occasionally they are also found inland. Red Phalaropes have a preference for breeding in coastal wet tundra, usually near fresh or brackish water. During migration they prefer coastal routes and habitats.

Sightings Click here for sighting information G. Normand reports spotting a Red Phalarope at Parc des Buttes Chaumonts, 19th district, Paris, France, in October 2020. In January 2023, J. Pires found Red Phalaropes at Papoa, near Cape Carvoeiro, Peniche, Portugal. Others were found at Morraceira island, Figueira da Foz, Mondego estuary, Portugal, in January 2023, and at Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, in February 2023.

Photos

ADULT

NON-BREEDING

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Red Phalarope in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, February 2023]

Frontal view of a Red Phalarope in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, February 2023]

Lateral view of a Red Phalarope in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, February 2023]

Lateral view of a Red Phalarope in non-breeding plumage; the rufous bar on the chest is from algae (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, February 2023]

Lateral view of a Red Phalarope in non-breeding plumage; the rufous bar on the chest is from algae (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, February 2023]

Lateral view of a Red Phalarope in non-breeding plumage feeding on something; the rufous bar on the chest is from algae (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, February 2023]

Near-dorsal view of a Red Phalarope in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, February 2023]

Dorsal view of a Red Phalarope in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sapal de Alhos Vedros, Moita, Setubal, Portugal, February 2023]

Lateral view of a small mob of Red Phalaropes in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Papoa, near Cape Carvoeiro, Peniche, Portugal, January 2023]

Lateral view of a small mob of Red Phalaropes in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Papoa, near Cape Carvoeiro, Peniche, Portugal, January 2023]

Lateral comparison of a Red Phalarope in non-breeding plumage in flight with a European Shag in breeding plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Papoa, near Cape Carvoeiro, Peniche, Portugal, January 2023]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a first-winter Red Phalarope (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Morraceira island, Figueira da Foz, Mondego estuary, Portugal, January 2023]

Lateral view of a first-winter Red Phalarope (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Morraceira island, Figueira da Foz, Mondego estuary, Portugal, January 2023]

Lateral view of a first-winter Red Phalarope, in comparison with a Black-headed Gull (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Morraceira island, Figueira da Foz, Mondego estuary, Portugal, January 2023]

Lateral view of a first-winter Red Phalarope in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Morraceira island, Figueira da Foz, Mondego estuary, Portugal, January 2023]

Lateral view of a first-winter Red Phalarope in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Morraceira island, Figueira da Foz, Mondego estuary, Portugal, January 2023]

Near-lateral view of a Red Phalarope in transitional plumage from juvenile to first-winter - note how the wing coverts are already light-grey, while the black primaries are still juvenile feathers (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Parc des Buttes Chaumonts, 19th district, Paris, France, October 2020]

Near-lateral view of a Red Phalarope in transitional plumage from juvenile to first-winter (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Parc des Buttes Chaumonts, 19th district, Paris, France, October 2020]

Lateral view of a Red Phalarope in transitional plumage from juvenile to first-winter (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Parc des Buttes Chaumonts, 19th district, Paris, France, October 2020]

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