Phalaropus lobatus
Silhouette: Oscar G. Miranda · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
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 →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 2 | Karachi | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | |
| 3 | Guangzhou | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Davao City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 5 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Dubai | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Coimbatore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monterey Bay Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Red-necked Phalarope sighting in Vatnajokull National Park on a given day, based on 111 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 32nd most-seen of the 73 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Red-necked Phalarope in Vatnajokull National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, August and November, the lowest months.
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.
Among the best
Of the 28 parks where we can rate Red-necked Phalarope sightings, Vatnajokull National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Komodo National Park (Indonesia, about 20%).
Same family: Scolopacidae
The closest relatives of the Red-necked Phalarope that you can see in Vatnajokull National Park (family Scolopacidae, Sandpipers and Allies) are Common Snipe (about 50%), Common Redshank (about 30%) and Whimbrel (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-necked Phalarope is recorded against all the birds logged in Vatnajokull National Park (111 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.
