Wilson’s Phalarope

(Phalaropus tricolor)

Conservation Status

 

No Image Available

  IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

     
  NatureServe

N5B - Secure Breeding

S2B - Imperiled Breeding

     
  Minnesota

Threatened

Species in Greatest Conservation Need

     
           
 
Description
 
 

 

 
     
 

Size

 
 

9 to 9½ in length

17 wingspan

 
     
 

Voice

 
 

 

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Breeding: Wet prairies, fens, and wetlands near shallow open water

Migration: Lakeshores, mudflats, marshes

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Migration

 
 

Late April to late May and July to September

 
     
 

Nesting

 
 

 

 
     
 

Food

 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Occurrence

 
 

Common migrant, locally common breeder

 
         
 

Maps

 
 

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Class Aves (birds)  
 

Order

Charadriiformes (shorebirds and allies)  
 

Family

Scolopacidae (sandpipers and allies)  
 

Genus

Phalaropus (phalaropes)  
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Steganopus tricolor

 
       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

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Camera

 

     
Slideshows
   
  Wilson's Phalarope
Bjarni in Iceland
 
  Wilson's Phalarope  
     
  Wilson's Phalarope
JMC Nature Photos
 
  Wilson's Phalarope  
     
  Wilson's Phalarope
Arvind Agrawal
 
  Wilson's Phalarope  

 

slideshow

       
Visitor Videos
   

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Other Videos
 
  Wilson's Phalarope (Scolopacidae: Phalaropus tricolor) Feeding
Carl Barrentine
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on May 13, 2010

Photographed at Kellys Slough NWR, North Dakota (13 May 2010). Note female's apparent reluctance to interact with two males.

   
       
  Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor), feeding, preening, swimming
Rob Curtis
 
   
 
About

Published on Apr 18, 2014

Wilson's Phalaropes, (Phalaropus tricolor), feeding, preening, swimming.

Species photo gallery:
http://www.theearlybirder.com/sandprs/wilson-phalarope/index.htm

   
       
  The Frenetic Wilson's Phalarope--Narrated (YouTube: JO ALWOOD)
Jo Alwood
 
   
 
About

Published on May 5, 2014

The Wilson's Phalarope is a delicate, elegant, feverishly active shorebird.

You can see all my movies on my YouTube channel: Jo Alwood.

Click "Subscribe" to be notified of new movies.

   
       
  Wilson's Phalarope Foraging
LabofOrnithology
 
   
 
About

Published on Jan 27, 2016

Wilson's Phalarope forage in Montana. Note their characteristic spinning, which creates whirlpools in the nutrient-rich waters, stirring up invertebrate prey and bringing it to the surface.

Video recorded by Timothy Barksdale/Macaulay Library/http://macaulaylibrary.org/video/420088.

For more bird videos and sounds, explore the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, http://macaulaylibrary.org.

For additional identification and life history information visit: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wilsons_Phalarope/id

   
       
  Wilson's Phalaropes spinning while walking in shallow water
Alan de Queiroz
 
   
 
About

Published on Jul 24, 2015

Wilson's Phalaropes (Phalaropus tricolor) spinning while walking at Damonte Ranch wetlands in Reno, Nevada, USA on 24 July 2015. These birds, and other phalaropes, often feed by spinning while swimming—this action pushes small organisms toward the surface. I'm not sure how common it is for them to do this while walking.

   
       

 

Camcorder

 
 
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