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

In honor of the Wilson’s phalarope, or falaropo tricolor in Spanish, an artist painted matching murals beside the two lakes.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 22, 2025

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

Other shorebirds that eat leaf-beetles are the Wilson phalarope and dowitcher.

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