BIRDS OF ICELAND red-necked phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus

Phaleropus lobatus; the red-necked phalarope can easily be recognized by the grey head and the red neck. It can be found in all kind of wetlands during the breeding season but turns to sea in winter, mainly in more southern regions of the eastern Atlantic. It has a special way of hunting water insects: they swim in circles and then catch the insects by quick picking movements. These elegant birds make their nests in grasslands. Next to this common phalarope one may encounter the rare grey phalarope on Iceland from the end of may to early august. It is a more northern specie which spends only a short time at their breeding grounds. Outside the breeding period they move to sea and stay west of northern Africa during the winter period. Migrants from northern regions pass Iceland but are rarely seen on land.

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