June ] SMITH, Wilson's Phalarope 91 1968

It has a wide distribution throughout the southern oceans between 60° S. and 40° S., with an occasional northward move­ ment to Madagascar, Reunion, Southern Australia and the North Island of New Zealand, etc. It breeds freely on the coast of the Foveaux Strait and on islands off the South Island of New Zealand, also on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island in the south Atlantic, and on St. Paul Island in the Indian Ocean. (Alexander 1955). Since the foregoing notes were written A. R. McGill has advised me that the known records of the occurrence of P. vittata in New South Wales, as compiled by K. A. Hindwood, are as follows. They are reproduced here in an endeavour to make this report as com­ plete as possible. July, 1904. 1 specimen. Long Bay. Published Museum records say that the beach was strewn with them, but that undoubtedly would refer to many bodies of prions of pro- bably various species. July, 1904. 1 specimen. Maroubra. Published records as above. July, 1948. 1 Bate Bay. Messrs. Hindwood, Everett and McGill. Aug., 1954. 1 Bate Bay. F. Johnston. July, 1954. 1 Dee Why. T. Iredale. July, 1954. 2 Thirroul. Messrs. Gibson and Sefton. July, 1954. 1 Ulladulla. C. Humphries. REFERENCES ALEXANDER, W. B., 1955. Birds of the Ocean, p. 45 Putnam Press, London. CONDON , H. T., 1965. "A Handlist of the Birds of South Australia, Supple­ ment No. 1 ". The South Australian Ornithologist, p. 71. McGILL, A. R., 1960. A Hand List of the Birds of New South Wales, p. 8 V. C. N. Blight, Government Printer, Sydney, New South Wales. OLIVER, W. R. B., 1955. New Zealand Birds, p. 124. A. H. & A. W. Reed, Wellington, New Zealand. SERVENTY, D. L. & WHITTELL, H . M., 1962. Birds of Western Australia, p. 84. Paterson Brokensha Pty. Ltd., Perth, Western Australia.

An Australian Sight Record of Wilson's Phalarope By F. T. H. SMITH, Kew, Victoria Wilson's Phalarope (Steganopus tricolor), sometimes placed in the genus Phalaropus, the largest of the three world species of phalaropes, is here reported from Australia. The breeding range is from the central states of Canada and the United States of America, westward to the Pacific Ocean. It migrates as far south as the Falkland Islands and then commonly occurs in Argentina and Chile. The bird is known to frequent large inland lakes at both extremities of its migration. However, its activities in its winter quarters are not yet fully known. Occasionally the species strays 92 SMITH, Wilson's Phalarope [ Bird Watcher to the British Isles, but it is otherwise rarely heard of away from its usual lines of migration. A Wilson's Phalarope, in non-breeding plumage, seen closely by two observers at Lake Murdeduke, Victoria, is described and notes on its method of feeding are given. The species is compared with the Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) and the Grey Phalarope (P. fulicarius). It is suggested that other phalaropes will visit Australia from time to time, as vagrants, and field-observers should be prepared to identify them as the birds are located. The bird seen was the palest wader that I have observed in over 15 years of field experience with this group of birds. Its active feeding method, in my opinion, resembled that of the Terek Sand­ piper (Xenus cinereus). I am well aware of the problems attendant on sight records of unusual birds, and that many ornithologists will not accept them. This factual report, then, is presented with the knowledge that it may be of interest to some readers, to be accepted or rejected as is the wont of the individual. THE FINDING OF THE WILSON'S PHALAROPE With Mr. R. Sympson, who has had a special interest in the Charadriiformes for the past three years, a day was spent in search of members of this order on January 6, 1966. Lake Murdeduke, about 75 miles from Melbourne, in the Western District of Victoria, was the location chosen for the outing. A brief visit had been made to the lake over two years previously, and I had then considered that the prospect of wader occurrences there would well merit further investigation. Lake Murdeduke, which is known locally as a "creeping lake", is gradually intruding on neighbouring grazing lands. It is marked "salt" on district maps but I fancy it is more brackish than salt, as it is fed by a few small freshwater creeks. The largest of these is the Mia Mia Creek at the north-western section of the lake. The lake, which is approximately 20 miles from the coast, is roughly circular and it has a shore-line of over ten miles. The water is open and supports little vegetation; the main growth being a species of water-mat, Lipilaena sp. The long thin strands of the Water-mat, on the day of our visit, were washed up in masses for miles around the shore of the lake. The east side was particularly well covered, the weed having been moved there by the prevailing south-westerly winds. Huge flat islands of the weed were also scattered about the lake proper, some being close to or joined to, the shore. Bird-life on and near the water was plentiful and consisted mainly of Coot (Fulica atra), Australian Spur-winged Plover ( Lobibyx novae-hollandiae), Red-capped Dotterel (Charadrius alexandrinus), Red-necked Stint (Erolia ruficollis), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (E. acuminata), Chestnut-breasted Shelduck (Casarca tadornoides), Grey Teal ( Anas gibberifrons), and Pink-eared Duck June ] SMITH, Wilson's Phalarope 93 1968

(Malacorhynchus membranaceus), and a number of other species in lesser numbers. We had covered the western and northern shores of the lake and were moving south along the east side, when we came to a broad low peninsula, at the south-eastern section, which projected into the water for over 300 yards. At rest on the raised part of the peninsula were hundreds of small migratory waders. Most of them were Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Red-necked Stints, with at least two Pectoral Sandpipers (Erolia melanotos). Many of the small waders were feeding along the muddy edges of the point of land. Out in the water near-by were large islands of Water-mat, and one of these patches met the shore at the base of the eastern side of the peninsula. On this particular raft were over one hundred small waders, mainly Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and Red-necked Stints. At 12.30 p.m., whilst studying the birds on this raft through 10x50 binoculars, a very pale wader was noticed among the other birds. It was about the bulk of a medium sized Sharp-tailed Sand­ piper, and, apart from its paleness, immediately attracted atten­ tion by its most peculiar manner. It was running over the surface of the weed in what appeared to be an erratic fashion, and it gave the impression that it was not quite sure in which direction it might go next. The wader ran with its legs well bent in a crouched attitude, its head and extended neck straight out, close to and horizontal with the weed. The back of the bird was held slightly higher than the lowered head. This attitude and the running activity were remini­ scent of the Spotted Crake (Porzana fluminea) pursuing Kelp-flies along a muddy fringe, and the feeding actions were similar to those of the Terek Sandpiper. Often, on a wet sandy shore, this Sandpiper will run in a crouched position, with the neck horizontally extended, as it moves from one feeding place to another. My first reaction on seeing the strange wader from a distance of about 60 feet was that it was a very pale Terek Sandpiper. How­ ever, the bill was black and had no up-turn, and was long, thin and perfectly straight. I then checked the leg colour and found that, at this stage of the observation, it appeared nondescript and certainly had none of the bright hue of the leg of the Terek Sandpiper. The bird was moving quickly towards us and it was changing direction frequently as it ran. It hurried along, in the peculiar posture, and picked at the weed, moving its bill from side to side, but mostly straight ahead. By this time I realised that it was a species of wader that I had not seen previously. The bird ran to a small pool of water that had formed where part of the Water-mat had sagged below the surface, and without hesitation it charged into the shallow water and swam in an upright position for a few seconds. It was then that I realised that the bird was a phalarope in the pallid, non-breeding plumage. 94 SMITH, Wilson's Phalarope [ Bird Watcher

Fortunately, so far as the observation was concerned, it was only the previous evening that I had studied the literature and checked the identification points of the phalaropes; as I had done many times during the past years. In case the bird should fly away suddenly I began to look for other proof that it was a phalarope, and to indentify the species from the individual markings. By this time we had moved near to the water's edge where we sat on the soft dry weed, with direct sunshine on the wader, now approximately 30 feet away. Between us we used 8x40, 10x50 and 15x50 binoculars during the period of the observation. The winter-plumage "eye-patch" of the phalarope was looked for and seen. The "patch" was a light grey line just noticeable in front of the eye, but much more apparent and extensive behind the eye. The narrow, grey line curved away from the rear of the eye and went down the white side of the neck for nearly an inch. The mark became gradually less distinct behind the eye, fading eventually into the white side of the neck. Then the bird exhibited another peculiar feature of its feeding method. It lay flat and quite low in the shallow water, with its neck and head fully extended along the surface, the tail just slightly higher. In this position it was almost completely submerged, just the tail, back, part of the upper wing-coverts, upper neck, eye and bill clearing the surface. It was always on the move in this posture, sometimes swimming and sometimes, it seemed, with its feet on the bottom of the pool. It charged about very actively after small insects on the water. Occasionally it picked from side to side, but mostly it shot its bill straight forward taking the insects clearly from the surface. It rarely ceased its nervous mannerisms in the water and covered the length and breadth of the small pool several times. Neither Sympson nor I had seen such unusual feeding behaviour before, so we studied the action at length. The usual action, which was repeated many times whilst we were watching, was when the bird was lying flat in the water with its eyes just clearing the surface. On sighting a tiny insect it would dash straight at it, pick it up cleanly from the water, then immediately look for another. Very rarely did the bird sit upright on the water and not once did we see it spin in the characteristic way of all phalarope species. Sometimes, as it charged at insects with its long, rapier-like bill pointed straight forward, a near-by Sharp-tailed Sandpiper or Red-necked Stint would find itself in the line of fire. The Phala­ rope, however, would continue its dash heedless of the close presence of the other small waders, and it was always the other birds that had to jump clear to save themselves from possible injury from the thrust of the sharp beak. Two or three times the Phalarope left the water to career about on the weed, only to suddenly rush back into the water again. Finally it came out of the pool and stood upright on the flat weed, and fed .in a much more upright manner, similar to that of the near-by Sharp-tailed Sand- June ] SMITH, Wilson's Phalarope 95 1968 pipers, that is, with the legs not markedly flexed, and with the head and neck held more erect, and moving in a more sedate way. It was noticed that when the neck was lengthened vertically, it had the appearance of being slim and the head seemed small for the body size. By this time I studied the plumage details and immediate habits of the bird, at close hand, for some time and I began to record my impressions in a note-book. Seeing that the wader was out of the water and that its feet were unobscured, I decided to check leg-colour, and whether the toes were lobed. I found that the leg-colour was difficult to determine under the pre­ vailing light conditions. The [. Un was almost directly overhead throwing the shadow of the bird onto its legs. My impression was that the leg was a yellowish colour. The narrow lobing of the feet was seen, but the general effect was of a thickening of the toes. Both the Red-necked and the Grey Phalaropes have more widely lobed toes. Having made certain, in my own mind, that the bird was a phalarope it was not too difficult to determine the species. Obviously, it was noticeably larger, when compared with a Sharp­ tailed Sandpiper, than the Red-necked Phalarope that was seen, in breeding plumage, at Werribee, on December 22, 1962 (The Australian Birc/1 Watcher, 2: 1-4). Also it was much lighter and less marked on the upper parts than the Red-necked Phalarope in winter plumage. It had a less distinct "eye-patch" and a longer bill in proportion to head length than in lobatus. The strange phalarope approximated more in size to the Grey Phalarope (P. fulicarius), and also in the hue of its upper parts. But it was soon obvious that it was not a Grey Phalarope because it had a longer and relatively finer bill than fulicarius, and again, as in lobatus, showed a fainter "eye-patch". I knew, then, that the bird was a Wilson's Phalarope, but two more points of identi­ fication remained to be seen. Both of these would only be discern­ ible on the upper parts while the bird was in flight. Shortly there was a sudden commotion among the waders and all those in front of us flew up and sped away. As the Phalarope rose it showed the final two points of field indentification; a pure white rump and no white bars on the outspread grey wings. Of the three world phalaropes, Wilson's is the only one to have a white rump. The other species have a dark centre to the rump and a prominent white wing-bar. The Wilson's Phalarope flew out over the lake with the other waders, and was lost to view. We made an extensive search for over an hour, but could not re-locate the bird. We had, however, made the most of our opportunities during the thirty minutes or more that the "new" bird was under observation. Our views had been obtained at close range, under the excellent conditions, and on the spot notes had been taken. I was doubly fortunate in being prepared to meet the species in the field. Sympson is in complete accord with the indentification, particularly 96 SMITH, Wilson's Phalarope [ Bird Watcher

after having checked the field notes with the books of reference. On the day of the observation we had with us a copy of The National Geographic Magazine, August, 1937, which contained an excellent painting of Wilson's Phalarope. The "young in winter garb", on plate 11, was similar to our bird. With other observers, I went to Lake Murdeduke on January 12, 1966, to look for the Phalarope, but without success. Possibly it was still there but well out on the large lake, feeding from the islands of Water-mat. THE PHALAROPES It appears the phalaropes have been reaching Australia from time to time, over the years, and it seems likely that other occurrences will take place in the future. I have seen two different species of phalaropes in Victoria, and I have heard of two un­ identified phalaropes, seen by the one observer, in South Australia. _ Unreported sightings may have been made over the years by other bird watchers. I would suggest that field-observers of the Charadrii­ formes should familiarize themselves with the identification aspects of phalaropes, in case one is encountered unexpectedly. Providing an observer has some previous knowledge of birds of this group, there should be little difficulty in the recognition of each species. In fact, phalaropes are readily recognizable as such, usually, at first, by their aquatic habits. Having established that a bird is a phalarope, it is then not too difficult to identify the species in any state of plumage. Breeding and non-breeding plumages are distinctive. Birds of the three species in stages between summer and winter dress, and in juvenile garb, can also be identified in the field. The females of all species are larger than the males. All phalaropes are closely associated with water and are by far the most aquatic of the wader group. All of them spend a considerable amount of time in actually swimming after their food. Often the birds will spin, characteristically, on the one spot in the water, many times in succession. This activity is thought to stir up small aquatic organisms which are then taken with fast jabs of the bill. Wilson's Phalarope has been known to perform the tight circling on land. Of the three world species of phalaropes, Wilson's is the largest and the least aquatic. That is, it does not winter at sea as do the Red-necked and Grey Phalaropes, and normally spends more time feeding ashore. The Red-necked and Grey Phalaropes do not often visit the edge of a pond on which they may be swimming in the summer haunts, or one to which they may have strayed outside of the breeding period. Wilson's Phalarope is often seen ashore running nervously along a pond-edge, or walking sedately with other shore-frequenting wader species. Phalaropes breed in the Northern Hemisphere and migrate south­ ward during the northern winter. It would be reasonable to assume that those straying to Australia would be, usually, in the pale non- June ] - SMITH, Wilson's Phalarope 97 1968 breeding plumage. Therefore, reference to phalaropes, in the remainder of this paper, will be to birds in full winter, or non­ breeding plumage. All phalaropes in this plumage stage can be distinguished as such by the "Phalarope eye-patch". This term is used in countries where the birds occur regularly. The "eye-patch", which is not shared by other species of wader, is a dark marking about the eye, which constrasts strongly with the white side of the head. In each of the three species the dark patch is less marked in front of the eye than behind it. Behind the eye the more prominent part of the patch curves slightly downward; this curvature being more pro­ nounced in Wilson's Phalarope. Both of the other species have a wider and darker "eye-patch" than Wilson's. The latter species has a mid-grey narrower patch, which extends usually further down the neck than it does in the other two species, where it some­ times joins the grey nape. Apart from the size and markings, the three phalaropes can be distinguished by the shape, length and colour of the bill. Wilson's Phalarope has the longest bill of the three species. It is black, slender and straight and exceeds the length of the head. The bill of the Red-necked species is more reminiscent of Wilson's than is that of the Grey Phalarope. In the Red-necked the beak is black, slender and straight, and about head-length, making it much shorter than Wilson's. The Grey Phalarope has a relatively short thick bill, which is noticeably shorter than the head-length. The bill of this species usually has a yellow base, with the rest dark, but it can appear almost wholly dark, with a lighter base in young birds. To sum up, Wilson's Phalarope is the largest of the group, 8Yz to 10 inches in length; followed by the Grey Phalarope, 7Yz to 9 inches; then the Red-necked Phalarope, 6Yz to 8 inches. The sizes quoted represent the smallest males and the largest females. On the ground or in the water Wilson's Phalarope can be dis­ tinguished from the other two species by its longer bill-to-head length ratio; thinner, lighter and longer "eye-patch", and its habit of running about with bent legs and with the lowered neck horizon­ tally extended. The upper parts are much lighter, and not streaked, as in the Red-necked, but they do have some resemblance to the Grey Phalarope. In flight Wilson's Phalarope is immediately recognizable by its pure white rump and its even grey wing-coverts, which lack streaks or bars. Wilson's is the only phalarope with a white rump; the other two species have a dark centre to the white rump, extending from the lower back through to the tail-tip. The Red-necked and Grey both show distinctive white wing-bars in flight. Wilson's Phalarope would seem to be the least expected of the three spes:ies to stray to Australia. The Red-necked and Grey species have occurred as vagrants to New Zealand and, because of their numbers and areas of normal occurrance, would be more likely to show up accidentally in Australia than would Steganopus tricolor. 98 SMITH, Wilson's Phalarope [ Bird Watcher

FIELD DESCRIPTION The following description is taken from field-notes written at Lake Murdeduke during the period of the observation. Size: When relaxed, approximately the same as a medium sized Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. With the long slender neck extended up­ ward, on the alert, the bird seemed slightly taller than the near-by Sharp-tailed Sandpipers. General Appearance: Very pale, gleaming white below and grey above. It was paler than any other migratory wader that I have ever seen in the full non-breeding plumage, including the Marsh­ Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), and the Sanderling (Crocethia alba). Under Parts: Pure gleaming white from chin to under tail­ coverts, with some light grey on the upper sides of the breast. Upper Parts: All of the frons, above the eyes and the sides of the neck white. Crown, from just forward of above the eye, light grey, continuing down nape on to the mantle. Most of the upper wing-surface generally light grey, shading darker on the lower aspect of the greater wing-coverts. The light grey area appeared practically uniform with very little mottling. The primaries were dark and the tail light grey. In flight at close range, and even further away, the upper surface was generally an even light grey, but the darker flight feathers gave the impression of two tones. The rump was pure white, and with the light grey tail, as the range increased the whole rear section seemed white. Eye: Dark. A light grey mark in front of the eye. A narrow line of the same shade curved away from behind the eye extending down the white sides of the neck for nearly an inch, and becoming less distinct towards its end. Legs and Feet: Dull yellowish. (The legs are black in breeding plumage). Medium length when straightened. Thickening of narrowly lobed toes noted when at closest range. Bill: Black for whole length. Straight, slender and somewhat longer than head length. FEEDING BEHAVIOUR As mentioned earlier in this paper we were intrigued, and amused, by the peculiar feeding postures of this bird. Apart from its swimming attitude and habit of lying full length in the water to jab forward at surface insects, it appeared more odd when running over the wet raft of Water-mat. This action puzzled me at first, and reference that evening to American bird-guides gave no description of the crouching posture, or the lowered and extended neck. Mention was made of it "running nervously" and this was the first confirmation of our observation on the activity. Later, however, as I delved further into the literature on the species, I found much confirmatory evidence. The English magazine, British Birds, eventually proved to be the best source of information on the feeding of Wilson's Phalarope. The species has been recorded in the British Isles about twenty times. The following quotations give some idea of the feeding habits, as noted by others and tend to confirm our observations. June J SMITH, Wilson's Phalarope 99 8961

Bagg and Eliot (1937) state that a bird was seen "feeding up to the shoulders in water"; P. A. D. Hollom (1960). "It is a very active bird on land, always running about when feeding with a curious lurching gait, and darting its bill from side to side or forwards almost continuously"; F. D. Hamilton and K. S. MacGregor (1955). " During the first few days the bird fed at the edge of the pool in a very energetic manner, running fast after insects, and picking these off the tops of the weeds and off the ground, with quick side to side movements of the head and it was not seen to probe at any time. Whilst it was feeding the legs were flexed and the head and neck were held close and parallel to the ground with the tail raised". J. P. Wilkinson (1959) states "The bird was constantly on the move, wading through the shallows and feeding greedily and hurriedly by picking insects off the smiace of the water. Not once was it seen to swim, but its general behaviour was typical of a phalarope picking rapidly in all directions around itself"; J. R. Beck, G. E. Dunmore and M. Goodman (1960). "At all times the bird was on the move and when feeding walked very briskly either with its neck streched upward and forwards at an angle or with its head lowered, legs well flexed and rear end tilted upwards. This latter action was not unlike that of a Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) hurrying for cover. The feeding action was one of picking from the surface of the mud, never apparently probing, with head turning quickly from side to side, whilst the bird frequently changed directon in its course". REFERENCES ALLEN, A. A. 1937, The National Geographic Magazine, August, 1937, 212, nl. II. ALLEN, A . A. 1945, The National Geographic Magazine, June, 1945, pl. I~ . BAGG, A. C. & E LIOT, S. A 1937, Birds of the Connecticut Valley in Massa- chusetts, 250-1 . BANNF" M>\N, D. A. 1961, The Birds of the British Isles, 9:198-206. BECK, J. R ., DUNMORE, G. E. and GOODMAN, M. 1960, British Birds, 30-32. BENT, A. C. 1929, Life Histories of North American Shore Birds, part 1, 28-37. HALL, H. M. 1960, A Gathering of Shore Birds, 215-216. HAM•LTON, F D. and MACGREGOR, K. S. 1955, British Birds, January, 1955, 1 'i-17. pl. 16. HoLLOM. P. A. D. 1960. The Popular Handbook of Rarer British Birds, 52-53. p]. 16. PEARSON, T. GILBERT, 1936, Birds of America, 220-221, pl. 30. PETERSON, R. T. 1962, A Field Guide to the Birds, 106-107, pis. 27, 29, 31. PETERSON , R. T. 1961 , A Field Guide to Western Birds, 124, pis. 25, 29, 31. PouGH, R. H. 1951, Audubon Water Bird Guide, 256, pl. 32. SEEBO'~M. H . 1888, The Geographical Distribution of the Charadriidae, 342-143 SMJTI-I, F. T. H. 1963, " An Australian Sight Record of the Red-necked Phalarope", The A us•ralian Bird Watcher, 2: 1-4. WILKINSON, J. P . 1959, British Birds, 386-387. ADDENDUM Since the completion of this paper, another Wilson's Phalarope has been obs ~ rved in Victoria. The bird was found by Messrs. Howard Jarman and F. T. H. Smith at Altona, on November 5, 1967. The details of this occurrence will be published at a later date.