Incubation lasts 18 or 19 days. The young mainly feed themselves and are able to fly within 18 days of birth. Behaviour When feeding, a red phalarope will often swim in a small, rapid circle, forming a small whirlpool. This behaviour is thought to aid feeding by raising food from the bottom of shallow water. The bird will reach into the outskirts of the vortex with its bill, plucking small insects or crustaceans caught up therein. They sometimes fly up to catch insects in flight. On the open ocean, they are found in areas where converging ocean currents produce upwellings and are often found near groups of whales. Outside of the nesting season they often travel in flocks. This species is often very tame and approachable. Status and conservation The red phalarope is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. References External links Red phalarope at eNature.com Red phalarope stamps from Iceland, Kiribati and Sierra Leone at bird-stamps.org Red phalarope - Phalaropus fulicarius - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter Phalaropus Wading birds Birds of the Arctic Phalarope, Red Birds of Iceland Birds described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Holarctic birds