[Length 8.5 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

This Red Phalarope was photographed resting in the gravel (not sitting on a nest) along Gas Well Road in Barrow, Alaska. Photo taken with a 300mm f4.5 Nikkor ED lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: June 1989)

[Length 8.5 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

Few people get to enjoy the beautiful breeding plumage of the Red Phalarope without travelling to the high Arctic regions of Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, or Siberia, where they breed. Phalaropes have reversed the roles of the sexes. Females court males, and the males incubate the eggs and care for the young after they hatch. This stunning female was photographed in the small marsh at the south end of Trautman Lake at Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Photo taken with a 300mm f4.5 Nikkor ED lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1989)

[Length 8.5 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

This winter plumaged Red Phalarope was photographed at the Cape May Meadows in Cape May, New Jersey. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1987)

[Length 8.5 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

This Red Phalarope taking flight was photographed in the marsh at the south end of Trautman Lake at the village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: May 1989)

[Length 8.5 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

These Red Phalaropes in flight were photographed in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, Canada. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: July 1994)

[Length 7.75 in. Wingspan 15 in.]

Red-necked Phalaropes breed in the Arctic regions around the world. Phalaropes are among the few species of birds where the roles of the sexes are reversed. The females, not the males, are more brightly colored, and compete with other females for the attention of the males. And, after laying her eggs, the female leaves the male to incubate them, often seeking out another male to lay another clutch of eggs for her new mate to incubate as well! Red-necked Phalaropes are usually seen out at sea during migration, but they are also regularly seen "on land" in migration along the west coast of North America, and at traditional southbound staging areas such as Utah's Great Salt Lake, California's Mono Lake, and the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada. This Red-necked Phalarope was photographed on the banks of the Lake Hood Seaplane Marina in Anchorage Alaska. Photo taken with a 300mm f4.5 Nikkor ED lens on Ektachrome 400 film pushed to 800. (Date: May 1984)

[Length 7.75 in. Wingspan 15 in.]

This Red-necked Phalarope was photographed at Loch of Funzie RSPB Reserve, Funzie, Fetlar, Shetland, Scotland, Great Britain. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S f4 lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D100 camera. (Date: June 8, 2004)

[Length 7.75 in. Wingspan 15 in.]

This Red-necked Phalarope was photographed at Loch of Funzie RSPB Reserve, Funzie, Fetlar, Shetland, Scotland, Great Britain. Photo taken with a Nikkor 180mm EDAF-D f2.8 lens (EFL=270mm) on a Nikon D100 camera. (Date: June 7, 2004)