Red Phalarope

Phalaropus fulicarius (Linnaeus, 1758)

≈22 cmLength42 cmWingspan56 gWeight

When foraging, this bird often spins rapidly on the water, stirring up small whirlpools.

Busiest months: November · Most records: United States, Spain, United Kingdom

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Winter plumage gray above and white below; eye patch black
Bill black in winter
Breeding female has a red belly and white cheeks
Breeding female has a yellow bill with a black tip

Male, female and young

Female is larger and more brightly colored than male; juvenile has a pale gray and rufous back, yellowish-brown belly and dark eye patch.

Voice

A short “beek”.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: November · Most records: United States, Spain, United Kingdom

Red Phalarope has been recorded at 696 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 74 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

St. Paul IslandUnited States4,620 records
Pt. Pinos – seawatch onlyUnited States3,970 records
Southeast Farallon IslandUnited States2,419 records

More places

GambellUnited States2,309 records
Estaca de Bares – Observatorio de aves y entornoSpain415 records
Valparaíso – PelágicoChile358 records
Toronto – Colonel Samuel Smith ParkCanada240 records
Pt. PinosUnited States240 records
Quintero – PelágicoChile236 records
Muskegon Wastewater SystemUnited States216 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United States Spain United Kingdom Canada Chile Portugal Svalbard & Jan Mayen Ireland

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The red phalarope or grey phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, migrates mainly on oceanic routes, wintering at sea on tropical oceans.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Red Phalarope?

The Red Phalarope is about ≈22 cm long, with a wingspan of 42 cm and weighs around 56 g.

Where does the Red Phalarope live?

Its breeding range: North America, Palearctic: mostly high (locally low) Arctic marshy tundra of Holarctic: from southwestern, east-central Greenland, Iceland (local), Svalbard (north of Norway), Novaya Zemlya and northern Siberia to Bering Strait; northern Alaska and northern Canada including southern tier of Arctic Canadian islands. It is most often recorded in United States, Spain and United Kingdom.

When is the best time to see the Red Phalarope?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in November (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Red Phalarope endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Red Phalarope as Least Concern.

What does the Red Phalarope eat?

Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.

What family is the Red Phalarope in?

It belongs to the family Sandpipers, Snipes (Scolopacidae), order Charadriiformes.

At a glance

Length: ≈22 cm
Wingspan: 42 cm
Weight: 56 g
Habitat: Ocean
Diet: Fish, shrimp & shellfish
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 126 mm
Tail: 52 mm
Bill: 31 mm
Tarsus: 27 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

North America, Palearctic: mostly high (locally low) Arctic marshy tundra of Holarctic: from southwestern, east-central Greenland, Iceland (local), Svalbard (north of Norway), Novaya Zemlya and northern Siberia to Bering Strait; northern Alaska and northern Canada including southern tier of Arctic Canadian islands

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2