WILSON PHALAROPE. Steganopus tricolor Vieillot

Field characters.—Larger than Northern Phalarope; size of Robin or Killdeer, but with slender head and neck, and very slender black bill. Upper surface chiefly dark brown, with some black and cinnamon red at side of neck of female; a conspicuous patch of white above base of tail, shown especially in flight; under surface white except for tawny or gray area on fore neck. Swims lightly, as does the Northern Phalarope, but not so habitually.

Occurrence.—Summer visitant along east base of Sierra Nevada; dates of record at or near Mono Lake: May 6 and 20, and June 23, 1916. Frequents marshy meadows and margins of ponds.

The Wilson Phalarope probably nests in wet meadows at Mono Lake and south of Williams Butte; for a female collected there on May 6, 1916, contained an egg ready to be laid. Moreover; two male birds observed by Mr. Dixon at Farrington's Ranch on June 23, 1916, acted as if there were nests near by. Since the male of the phalarope is the sex which does most or all of the work of brooding and of caring for the young, it seems likely that the concern exhibited by these birds meant that they actually were nesting in the vicinity.

Unlike the Northern Phalarope, this larger species gleans most of its forage when wading rather than when swimming.