Phalaropus fulicarius
Scientific name:
Phalaropus fulicarius
Family:
Sandpipers, snipes and phalaropesConservation status:
Introduced
Length:
20cm to 22cm
Wingspan:
34cm to 41cm
Weight:
50g to 75g
The great phalarope is a wader that breeds in the Arctic and visits the UK's coasts after storms. It's a fairly rare sight to see one of these birds, as roughly 200 are seen each year on the coast of the UK.
Like other phalaropes, the males are left to incubate and bring up the young. Females boast more colours.
These birds are also known as red phalaropes in North America, as their breeding plumage is orangey-red whilst in the breeding season.
Their diets mainly consist of small insects and aquatic creatures, but in winter they eat mainly marine plankton from the surface of the sea.
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