Red-necked Phalarope is a petite, pelagic shorebird—just 6.3–7.1 inches long with a 10.6–11.8 inch wingspan—best known in Arizona as a rare but predictable migrant. It turns up in spring (late April–May) and again in fall (August–September) at briny playas and irrigation ponds along the lower Colorado River (notably Cibola National Wildlife Refuge and the Imperial Wildlife Area) and, on occasion, inland reservoirs such as Lake Pleasant and Lake Mead. In breeding plumage, adults sport a warm reddish-brown neck and breast set off by slate-gray upperparts and a clean white face; non-breeding birds are pale gray above, white below, with a dark cheek patch. They feed by swimming in rapid circles to whip up tiny aquatic insects and crustaceans at the water’s surface.
