and more brightly coloured than males. The females pursue males, compete for nesting territory, and will aggressively defend their nests and chosen mates. Once the females lay their eggs, they begin their southward migration, leaving the males to incubate the eggs. Three to four eggs are laid in a ground nest near water. The young feed themselves. Although very common, this bird's population may have declined in some areas due to the loss of prairie wetland habitat. A few staging areas are of critical importance during migration. References Further reading Hayman, Peter; Marchant, John & Prater, Tony (1986): Shorebirds: an identification guide to the waders of the world. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. External links Wilson's phalarope – Phalaropus tricolor – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter Wilson's phalarope photos at Oiseaux.net Wilson's phalarope Wading birds Native birds of Western Canada Native birds of the Northwestern United States Birds of North America Birds of South America Wilson's phalarope Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN Wilson's phalarope