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Phalaropes
A small, select family of three, two of whose species keep so far out at sea during their migrations from the Arctic regions to the south that we rarely see them, Wilson's phalarope, alone, being anywhere a common bird in the United States. Strangely enough, it is far more abundant in the interior than on the coast. The bodies of these small sea snipe, as they are often called, are depressed, covered with thick plumage to resist water that they spend much time upon, for their feet are furnished with narrow lobes that enable them to swim well. They are smaller than the robin. The curious characteristic of this family is that it contains the most advanced female among all the feathered tribes; this strong minded creature wearing the gay colors, doing the wooing, and gayly disporting herself, while the male incubates the eggs and attends to nursery drudgeries.