Adults: Non-breeding: Forehead, underparts, grey white. Crown, upper nape, grey. Forehead, white running into white eyebrow. Small dark patch extends from below eye to nape. Eye, brown. Back, scapulars, sides to breast, grey. Rump, white. Wing coverts, blackish. Bill, black. Legs, pale yellow.
Female: Breeding: Crown, nape, grey. Eyestripe, broad and black extending down sides of neck to shoulder. Upperparts, dark brown. Flight feathers, blackish. Throat, white. Breast, reddish. Underparts, grey white. In flight, upperwing is uniformly dark. Bill, black.
Male: Breeding: As for female but duller and less strongly marked.
Immatures: Similar to non-breeding adult, but crown and upperparts dark brown, feathers fringed with buff. Legs, pinkish-yellow.
Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada (B) (P), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador (NB), El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uruguay (NB), USA (B), Venezuela.
Vagrant to Anguilla, Antarctica, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Cayman Islands, Côte dIvoire, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Martinique, Montserrat, Morocco, Namibia, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia (Asian), South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spain, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon (P), St Vincent and The Grenadines, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom, Virgin Islands (British), Virgin Islands (U.S.).
Northern Alberta and east-central California east to Great Lakes area, with scattered small outlying populations. Winters from northern Peru to Uruguay and south to Tierra del Fuego.
Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) [XC36555]
by Paul Marvin from Port Susan Bay, Snohomish County, WA, United States (call)
Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) [XC238817]
by Ed Pandolfino from Cotopaxi: Laguna de Limpiopungo, Ecuador (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia. Breeds in North America.
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Nest
A depression in the ground, lined with grass, usually well-hidden in grass tussocks.
Eggs (Guide)
4; olive-buff blotched with dark brown.
Subspecies
Apparently quite close to Tringa. Two morphs of adult male breeding plumage have been claimed.
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
Similar size. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Bill, also black and needle-like, but longer. Lacks the small dark patch extends from below eye to nape. Legs, finer, longer and yellow-green, grey-green or yellow. White rump extends up the back forming a long wedge.
Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)
Slightly smaller. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Bill, also black and needle-like, but shorter. Upperparts, darker. Eye patch, darker and more distinct. Has a white wing bar. Legs, grey to blackish.
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)
Similar size. Non-breeding with non-breeding. Has longer legs, darker upperparts and a darker, striped, breast.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
BirdLife International Species Factsheet