Phalarope << FAL uh rohp >> is a small bird that breeds in the Northern Hemisphere and winters in the Southern Hemisphere. Phalaropes are sandpipers, small shorebirds with long, sensitive bills. The red phalarope and the red-necked, or northern, phalarope breed in the Arctic and subarctic. They winter on the high seas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Wilson’s phalarope breeds in prairies and on the Great Plains. It spends winters in South American saltwater lakes and marshes.
The female phalarope is larger and more brightly colored than the male phalarope. The female does the courting and establishes the nesting territory, mating with several males each season. The male builds the nest, incubates the eggs, and cares for the young.
