Phalaropus tricolor
Silhouette: Oscar G. Miranda · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
Wilson's phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor) is a small wader. This bird, the largest of the phalaropes, breeds in the prairies of North America in western Canada and the western United States. It is migratory, wintering in inland salt lakes near the Andes in Argentina. They are passage migrants through Central America around March/April and again during September/October. The species is a rare vagrant to western Europe.
This species is often very tame and approachable. Sometimes it is placed in a monotypic genus Steganopus. This bird is named after Scottish-American ornithologist Alexander Wilson. The English and genus names for phalaropes come through French phalarope and scientific Latin Phalaropus from Ancient Greek phalaris, "coot", and pous, "foot". Coots and phalaropes both have lobed toes. The specific tricolor is from Latin tri-, "three-", and color, coloris "colour".
Wilson's phalarope is slightly larger than the red phalarope at about 23 cm (9.1 in) in length. It is a dainty shorebird with lobed toes and a straight fine black bill. The breeding female is predominantly grey and brown above, with white underparts, a reddish neck and reddish flank... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cochabamba | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 4 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 5 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 10 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Wilson's Phalarope sighting in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 201st most-seen of the 223 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Wilson's Phalarope in Rocky Mountain National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Wilson's 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.
23rd of 24
Of the 24 parks where we can rate Wilson's Phalarope sightings, Rocky Mountain National Park ranks 23rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Isla del Coco National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%), Lauca National Park (Chile, about 10%) and Celestún Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Wilson's Phalarope is recorded against all the birds logged in Rocky Mountain National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
