Red Phalarope
Phalaropus fulicarius
Also known as: Grey Phalarope
Habitat
Aquatic
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
56 g
About This Species
This small shorebird feeds by spinning in tight circles on the water surface to stir up invertebrates, a distinctive habit that sets it apart from other waders, and it is typically found on open ocean, bays, and tundra pools rather than mudflats. It breeds on Arctic tundra in summer and spends the rest of the year far offshore, so most sightings come from pelagic boat trips or coastal storms that push birds inshore. Late spring migration and post-breeding dispersal in late summer are the best windows for coastal viewing.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Viewing from a boat or shoreline at a respectful distance without altering course to approach feeding birds is the appropriate practice, since flushing feeding flocks wastes energy they need for migration or breeding.
- Migratory bird protections apply across most of its range in North America, Europe, and Asia, though enforcement and specific provisions differ by country, and Arctic breeding grounds warrant extra caution during nesting season.
- Avoid approaching resting or feeding flocks closely enough to cause them to take flight.
Seasonal Activity
208,558 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Scolopacidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Aquatic
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 56 g
Photo
(c) Paul Cools, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Paul Cools
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.