Red-necked Phalarope

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About Red-necked Phalarope

It is a fairly small shorebird known for spinning frantically on water to stir up small invertebrates.
It has a circumpolar distribution and is found in both boreal and tundra zones between 60 and 70 degrees latitude.
These phalaropes can be found in coastal regions of the Arctic Ocean, south to the Aleutians and Northwest to Britain.
In the winter, it spends most of its time on the ocean.
During this non-breeding season, phalaropes can be found off central-west South America, in the Arabian Sea and from central Indonesia to western Melanesia.
Appearance and behaviour:
- The bird mainly feeds on small aquatic invertebrates and plankton.
- It exhibits a typical feeding behavior of spinning on the surface of water.
- This rapid circling is believed to bring the prey to its feeding range.
- Unlike in other species, female Red-necked phalaropes are brighter than males.
- During the breeding period, the species have a chestnut-red plumage from behind the ear to the down sides of the neck.
- Females are observed polyandrous, that is mating with more than one male.
- The males brood chicks and feed them.
Conservation status
- IUCN: Least concern

Q1) What is boreal forest?

The boreal forest, often referred to as the taiga, is the world’s largest terrestrial biome or ecosystem and represents a vast belt of coniferous forests that encircle the Earth’s northern hemisphere, just south of the Arctic tundra.

Source: Shore bird from Arctic region makes a stopover in urban water body in Coimbatore