Red-necked Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Silhouette: Oscar G. Miranda · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Los Angeles

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

1,220 Verified sightings at Los Angeles
2,687 In all 28 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Red-necked Phalarope

The red-necked phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus), also known as the northern phalarope and hyperborean phalarope, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans.

In 1743, the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the red-necked phalarope in the first volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The coot-footed tringa". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a specimen that had been collected off the coast of Maryland. When in 1758, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the red-necked phalarope with the phalaropes and sandpipers in the genus Tringa. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Tringa lobata and cited Edwards' work. The red-necked phalarope is now placed in the genus Phalaropus that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The English and genus names come through French phalarope and scientific Latin Phalaropus from Ancient Greek phalaris, "coot",... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Duet0:36

Sweden · 2026

© Dag Österlund · XC1141525 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call1:21

Sweden · 2026

© Lars Edenius · XC1140262 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Recording0:09

Oman · 2025

© Nicolas Martinez · XC963359 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Komodo National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
2 Vatnajokull National Park 🇮🇸 Iceland
~20%
3 Kenai Fjords National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Raja Ampat 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
5 Galápagos Islands 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
6 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
7 Kluane National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
8 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
9 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
10 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
11 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
12 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
13 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
14 Rottnest Island 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
15 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
16 Svalbard 🇳🇴 Norway
<5%
17 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
18 Denali National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
19 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
20 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
21 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
22 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
23 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
24 Point Pelee National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
25 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
26 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
27 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
28 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Novosibirsk 🇷🇺 Russia
~10%
2 Karachi 🇵🇰 Pakistan
<5%
3 Guangzhou 🇨🇳 China
<5%
4 Davao City 🇵🇭 Philippines
<5%
5 Washington 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
6 Dubai 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
<5%
7 Los Angeles 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 San Diego 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 Coimbatore 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 San Francisco 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Monterey Bay Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Red-necked Phalarope in Los Angeles?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-necked Phalarope sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 1,220 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 221st most-seen of the 426 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Red-necked Phalarope in Los Angeles?

August and September

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-necked Phalarope in Los Angeles on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months. Those are among Los Angeles's driest months, with almost no rain against 75 mm in February.

What time of day is best to see a Red-necked Phalarope?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-necked Phalarope sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Los Angeles the best place to see a Red-necked Phalarope?

7th of 26

Of the 26 cities where we can rate Red-necked Phalarope sightings, Los Angeles ranks 7th at under 5%. The best odds are in Novosibirsk (Russia, about 10%), Karachi (Pakistan, under 5%) and Guangzhou (China, under 5%).

Where does the Red-necked Phalarope sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Red-necked Phalarope is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Angeles (1,220 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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