Wilson's Phalarope is a slender, elegant shorebird that turns the usual bird world upside down. In phalaropes the sex roles are reversed: the female is the larger and far more brightly colored bird — in breeding plumage boldly marked with a black-and-chestnut stripe running down the side of the neck — and she competes for mates and then leaves the drabber male to incubate the eggs and raise the young alone. Trim, with a fine needle-like bill, it is the largest of the three phalaropes and the most terrestrial, often feeding by wading or walking rather than swimming.
Phalaropes are famous for a peculiar feeding trick: they spin rapidly in circles on the water, creating a little whirlpool that pulls small invertebrates up to the surface where the bird can pick them off. Wilson's Phalarope breeds in shallow marshes, wet meadows, and alkaline wetlands of the interior, reaching the eastern edge of its range with local breeding in Michigan, and it passes through as a migrant. Its reversed sex roles and spinning feeding behavior make it one of the most fascinating shorebirds to watch.
Feeds on aquatic insects, small crustaceans, and other invertebrates, often spinning in tight circles on the water to stir prey toward the surface, and also wading and walking to pick prey from shallow water and mud. It forages more on foot than the other phalaropes, which are highly aquatic.
Phalaropes have reversed sex roles. The female Wilson's Phalarope is larger and more brightly colored, competes for mates, and then leaves the duller male to incubate the eggs and raise the young — the opposite of most birds.
Spinning rapidly on the water creates a small whirlpool that draws tiny invertebrates up toward the surface, where the phalarope picks them off. It is a distinctive feeding technique shared by the phalaropes.
It breeds locally in shallow marshes, wet meadows, and alkaline wetlands at the eastern edge of its range, and passes through the state as a migrant. It is the largest and most terrestrial of the three phalaropes.
Phalaropes reverse the usual roles: the female is larger and more colorful, competes for mates, and leaves the male to incubate and raise the chicks alone. Juveniles are plain buff-and-gray.
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