red necked phararope

Red-necked Phalarope. The red-necked phalarope(Phalaropus lobatus) is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans.

Species: P. lobatus

Genus: Phalaropus

The red-necked grebe eats minnows and other small fish, crayfish, tadpoles, salamanders, insects, and aquatic plants. When it is looking for food, it often swims with its head underwater and then dives when it spots food. Sometimes it scoops up food from the surface of the water.

After breeding, red-necked phalaropes migrate to the Arabian Sea and seas off New Guinea and Indonesia, and Ecuador and Peru. On migration, they are often seen on small pools near coasts and sometimes blew onshore by storms. There are 12 accepted records of red-necked phalaropes in New Zealand.

It sleeps floating lightly on the sea surface. The red-necked phalarope is a small-headed, large-bodied wading bird with a long needle-like bill and lobed toes. In breeding plumage, adults have white throat patches and a predominantly dark grey head and back.