phalarope

American  

[fal-uh-rohp] / ˈfæl əˌroʊp /

noun

1. any of three species of small, aquatic birds of the family Phalaropodidae, resembling sandpipers but having lobate toes.

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phalarope British  

/ ˈfæləˌrəʊp /

noun

1. any aquatic shore bird of the family Phalaropidae, such as Phalaropus fulicarius ( grey phalarope ), of northern oceans and lakes, having a long slender bill and lobed toes: order Charadriiformes

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Etymology

Origin of phalarope

1770–80; < French < New Latin Phalaropus genus name < Greek phalār ( ís ) coot + -o- -o- + -pous -footed; see -pod

Example Sentences

A bird called the Wilson’s phalarope journeys between California’s Mono Lake and Argentina.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026

In turn, birds like the Wilson’s phalarope — a shorebird that breeds in North America and winters near the Andes mountains — will struggle to find enough nutrients.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 6, 2023

And one, the phalarope, sounds like a crossbreed between Pharrell and a jackalope.

From The Verge • Jun. 26, 2016

As it eats, the phalarope moves its beak in a rapid tweezing motion, transforming food-laden droplets of water into aspherical shapes that are propelled up into its mouth.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 21, 2015

Wireworms and their adult forms, click beetles, are devoured by the northern phalarope, woodcock, jacksnipe, pectoral sandpiper, killdeer, and upland plover.

From Our Vanishing Wild Life Its Extermination and Preservation by Hornaday, William Temple