PHALAROPES.
But three species of the genus Phalaropus are known, and two of these are British birds, one of them the Red-necked Phalarope, P. hyperboreus, breeding very sparingly and locally within our limits, the other the Gray Phalarope, P. fulicarius, a more or less regular visitor to our coasts in autumn and winter. From many points of view the Phalaropes are very interesting birds. They are distinguished from all other Limicoline forms by the structure of the feet, which are lobed like those of the Coot—a peculiarity which induced Edwards, in 1741, to describe a Phalarope as the “Coot-footed Tringa.” They are by far the most aquatic of the Charadriidæ, swimming as readily as Gulls or Ducks, and often going for hundreds of miles out on to the open sea; indeed they spend most of their time upon the water, only visiting land for any lengthened period during the breeding season.
There can be little doubt that the Gray Phalarope is a more abundant visitor to British waters, in autumn and winter, than is generally supposed. It has little reason to visit land at all at such a season, unless driven towards it by exceptionally severe weather. Occasionally, however, this Phalarope has occurred on our coasts in great numbers, something similar to the visitations of Sand Grouse, with which doubtless most readers are familiar. The autumn of 1866 is specially famous for a great “rush” of Gray Phalaropes to the British seas and coasts, and it is estimated that upwards of 500 were caught, of which large number nearly half occurred in Sussex! The most recent irruption of Gray Phalaropes was in 1886. The Gray Phalarope lives almost entirely out at sea, after the breeding season is over, wandering immense distances from land, and even accompanying whales, for the sake of catching the various small marine creatures disturbed by the “blowing” of those mighty animals—hence to the sailor it is often known as the “Whale Bird.” So hardy is this little bird, that it has been watched swimming about amongst icebergs far from land. It swims lightly and buoyantly as a foam fleck, with a peculiar bobbing motion of the head, but it is not known to dive. It apparently flies with reluctance, always preferring to swim out of danger. Its food principally consists of insects, but crustaceans, worms, and scraps of vegetable substances are eaten. The call note of this Phalarope is described as a shrill weet, and the alarm note, heard most frequently during flight, as a rapidly repeated bick-abick-a.
The Gray Phalarope is not known to breed anywhere on continental Europe, but does so in Spitzbergen, in Iceland, Greenland, and probably throughout all suitable parts of Arctic America and Asia, as far north as land extends. In winter it is very widely dispersed, even wandering as far as New Zealand. The Gray Phalarope is one of those species that change greatly in the colour of their plumage according to season. In winter dress—the plumage perhaps most familiar to British observers—the back is gray, and the under parts pure white; but in summer the whole of the latter are rich bright bay, and the feathers of the upper parts are dark brown with pale reddish-brown margins. In this plumage it is known as the Red Phalarope. Another interesting fact is that the female is much more brightly and richly coloured than the male, and the latter not only performs the duty of incubating the eggs, but takes the greater share in tending upon the young! It may thus be inferred that the pairing habits of this Phalarope are most singular, the female conducting the courtship! The Gray Phalarope remains practically gregarious throughout the year, breeding in colonies of varying size. Its favourite nesting-places are beside the marshy pools and lakes on the tundras, at no great distance from the Arctic Ocean. The nest is made upon the ground, and consists of a mere hollow in the moss or lichen, lined with a few dry leaves and grasses. The four pyriform eggs are pale buff, tinged with olive, blotched and spotted with dark brown and paler brown. At the nest the old Phalaropes are remarkably tame and confiding, showing little fear of man, but when the young are hatched often trying to delude him away by various deceptive antics. As soon as the young are sufficiently matured, the nesting-places are deserted, and young and old repair to the sea for the remainder of the year.
The second British species, the Red-necked Phalarope, is scarcely less known to the majority of people than the Gray Phalarope. It seldom visits the land except for breeding purposes, and as its nesting-places in our area are not only few, but in the remotest part of it, opportunities for observing its habits are few and fitful. It is a summer visitor to certain parts of the Outer Hebrides, to the Orkneys, and the Shetlands. Outside our limits its range is very extensive. It breeds in suitable localities throughout the Arctic regions of the New and Old Worlds, above the limits of forest growth; in winter it wanders far southwards, and is then found on the coasts of Europe, Southern Asia, Mexico, and Central America. Like the preceding species it is thoroughly marine in its choice of a haunt, but does not appear to wander for such great distances from land. It is just as tame and confiding, just as social in summer, and as gregarious in winter. It swims equally as well and buoyantly, with the same peculiar bobbing motion; whilst on the land it is able to run and walk with ease. It exhibits the same reluctance to take wing, preferring to retreat from danger by swimming, although it flies on occasion quickly and well. Its food is very similar, and its note is a shrill but rather low weet. As Professor Newton has remarked, both this and the preceding species of Phalarope are entrancingly interesting in their habits. “Their graceful form, their lively colouration, and the confidence with which both are familiarly displayed in their breeding-quarters can hardly be exaggerated, and it is equally a delightful sight to watch these birds gathering their food in the high-running surf, or, when that is done, peacefully floating outside the breakers.”[2]
So far as concerns Scotland, the breeding season of the Red-necked Phalarope commences in May, but in more Arctic localities it is deferred until several weeks later. It returns with unerring regularity to the old accustomed spots to rear its young. These are on the marshy moors, beside the pools, at no great distance from the sea. The nest, usually made on the ground, (in the valley of the Petchora it has been found in a hassock of coarse grass a foot or more above it), is a mere hollow lined with a few scraps of dead grass and rush. The four eggs are buff of various shades, or pale olive, spotted and blotched with amber and blackish-brown, pale brown and gray. As previously remarked the male bird incubates them. When disturbed at its breeding grounds, the Red-necked Phalarope slips off the nest and takes refuge in the water, manifesting little concern for its safety. As soon as the young are sufficiently matured, they and their parents resort to the sea, moving southwards as autumn advances, and for the most part keeping to the water until another nesting season comes round.