Phalaropus fulicarius

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CHARADRIIFORMES	SCOLOPACIDAE

Scientific Name:

Phalaropus fulicarius

Species Authority:

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Grey Phalarope, Grey (Red) Phalarope, Red Phalarope
French	–	Phalarope à bec large

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	The Red Phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia, generally wintering pelagically off western South America and western and south-western Africa¹.
Countries:	Native: Angola; Argentina; Austria; Belgium; Bermuda; Canada; Cape Verde; Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Côte d'Ivoire; Cuba; Czech Republic; Denmark; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; France; Germany; Greenland; Guatemala; Guinea-Bissau; Honduras; Iceland; India; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Malaysia; Mauritania; Mexico; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Netherlands; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Portugal; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; South Africa; Spain; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Switzerland; Taiwan, Province of China; United Kingdom; United States Vagrant: Antarctica; Antigua and Barbuda; Australia; Barbados; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; Brazil; Bulgaria; Cameroon; Croatia; Cyprus; Faroe Islands; Finland; Gambia; Ghana; Gibraltar; Greece; Guinea; Hong Kong; Hungary; Iraq; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Kiribati; Korea, Republic of; Kuwait; Liberia; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Luxembourg; Malta; Montenegro; New Zealand; Nigeria; Norway; Oman; Poland; Romania; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Sierra Leone; Slovakia; Slovenia; Sri Lanka; Sweden; Tajikistan; Togo; Tunisia; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Zimbabwe Present - origin uncertain: Anguilla; Bahamas; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Equatorial Guinea; Guadeloupe; Martinique; Nicaragua; Panama; Puerto Rico; Sao Tomé and Principe; Turks and Caicos Islands; Virgin Islands, British; Western Sahara
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour This species is a full migrant that travels via marine routes and has been observed migrating 80-160 km offshore. Adult females depart from the breeding grounds in early-June, followed by the adult males and juveniles in late-July and August, most arriving in the non-breeding quarters by the end of November. The species departs Chilean and South African seas in March, and West African and south-west African seas in April, migrating along the Arctic coasts and reoccupying breeding grounds from late-May to early-June. It may also wait 2-3 weeks at the edge of sea ice in the High Arctic waiting for the land to thaw before nesting¹. Once in the breeding grounds the species breeds between June and July (from mid-June to mid-July in Iceland, and from early-June to early-July in Russia). The species is gregarious at all times of the year¹, and will even breed in loose groups where the habitat is favourable. Habitat Breeding This species breeds close to the coast on marshy tundra with small pools, on boggy meadows with moss and grass, in marshy river valleys, or on islets in fjords. Non-breeding Outside of the breeding season this species is pelagic and frequents upwelling zones in the tropics and subtropics where plankton occurs in high concentrations (e.g. over 50,000 organisms/litre). Diet Breeding During the breeding season the diet of this species consists chiefly of invertebrates, such as adult and larval insects (e.g. beetles, caddisflies, dipteran flies, bugs), molluscs, crustaceans, annelid worms, spiders, mites, jellyfish² and occasionally plant material (seeds) when animal matter is scarce. Non-breeding During this season the species feeds at sea on plankton, including amphipods less than 2 mm long, Hydrozoa and small fish from the water surface or just below. Breeding site The nest is a shallow cup or scrape on the ground in short vegetation (e.g. sedges or grasses) and is usually close to or surrounded by water^{1, 2}.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour This species is a full migrant that travels via marine routes and has been observed migrating 80-160 km offshore. Adult females depart from the breeding grounds in early-June, followed by the adult males and juveniles in late-July and August, most arriving in the non-breeding quarters by the end of November. The species departs Chilean and South African seas in March, and West African and south-west African seas in April, migrating along the Arctic coasts and reoccupying breeding grounds from late-May to early-June. It may also wait 2-3 weeks at the edge of sea ice in the High Arctic waiting for the land to thaw before nesting¹. Once in the breeding grounds the species breeds between June and July (from mid-June to mid-July in Iceland, and from early-June to early-July in Russia). The species is gregarious at all times of the year¹, and will even breed in loose groups where the habitat is favourable. Habitat Breeding This species breeds close to the coast on marshy tundra with small pools, on boggy meadows with moss and grass, in marshy river valleys, or on islets in fjords. Non-breeding Outside of the breeding season this species is pelagic and frequents upwelling zones in the tropics and subtropics where plankton occurs in high concentrations (e.g. over 50,000 organisms/litre). Diet Breeding During the breeding season the diet of this species consists chiefly of invertebrates, such as adult and larval insects (e.g. beetles, caddisflies, dipteran flies, bugs), molluscs, crustaceans, annelid worms, spiders, mites, jellyfish² and occasionally plant material (seeds) when animal matter is scarce. Non-breeding During this season the species feeds at sea on plankton, including amphipods less than 2 mm long, Hydrozoa and small fish from the water surface or just below. Breeding site The nest is a shallow cup or scrape on the ground in short vegetation (e.g. sedges or grasses) and is usually close to or surrounded by water^{1, 2}.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Bibliography [top]

	del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. 1996. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Johnsgard, P. A. 1981. The plovers, sandpipers and snipes of the world. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, U.S.A. and London. Snow, D. W.; Perrins, C. M. 1998. The Birds of the Western Palearctic vol. 1: Non-Passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. 1996. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Johnsgard, P. A. 1981. The plovers, sandpipers and snipes of the world. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, U.S.A. and London.

Snow, D. W.; Perrins, C. M. 1998. The Birds of the Western Palearctic vol. 1: Non-Passerines. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Phalaropus fulicarius. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2012.
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