in large flocks off the
coast, floating on the surface of the water; they feed largely upon
small marine insects. Nests in hollows on the ground, lined with a few
grasses. The eggs are three or four in number, generally of a greenish
buff color, spotted and blotched with brown and blackish.
Data.--Myvates, Iceland, June 19, 1897. Collector, C. Jefferys.

223. NORTHERN PHALAROPE. _Lobipes labatus._

Range.--Northern Hemisphere, breeding in the northern parts of the
British Provinces.

This is the smallest of the Phalaropes, being about eight inches long;
in summer it has a chestnut band across the breast and on the side of
the neck. Its habits and nesting habits vary but little from those of
the Red Phalarope, although its distribution is a little more southerly,
and it is not as exclusively maritime as the preceding species. It is
found on both coasts of the United States, but more common on the
Pacific side, during the fall and spring, when going to or returning
from its winter quarters in the tropics. Their eggs cannot, with
certainty, be distinguished from the preceding species.

[Illustration 139: Greenish buff.]
[Illustration: Red Phalarope. Northern Phalarope.]
[Illustration: Greenish buff.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]

Page 138

224. WILSON'S PHALAROPE. _Steganopus tricolor._

Range.--Interior of temperate North America, breeding from the latitude
of Iowa, northward, and wintering south of the United States.

This is the most handsome species of the family, being of a very
graceful form, of a grayish and white color, with a broad stripe through
the eye and down the neck, where it fades insensibly into a rich
chestnut color. It is an exclusively American species and is rarely
found near the coast. It builds its nest generally in a tuft of grass,
the nests also being of grass. The eggs are of a brownish or greenish
buff color, spotted and blotched with black and brown. Size 1.30 x .90.
Data.--Larimore, N. D., May 30, 1897. Nest a shallow depression,
scratched in the sand, under a tuft of grass on an island. Collector, T.
F. Eastgate.

[Illustration 140: Male, female, young. Wilson's Phalarope.]
[Illustration: Brownish buff.]
[Illustration: deco.]
[Illustration: left hand margin.]

Page 139

AVOCETS and STILTS. Family RECURVIROSTRIDAE

225. AVOCET. _Recurvirostra americana_.

Range.--Western North America, breeding north to Northwest Territory.

The Avocet can be known from any other b