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By and large, the animal kingdom is not the place to look for examples of fatherly dedication. The natural world is rife with males that at best ignore and at worst threaten their offspring. Yet some notable exceptions do exist. One is the Wilson's Phalarope (Steganopus tricolor), a long-legged, needle-billed relative of the sandpiper.
Bred on North American prairie wetlands, this bird winters in South America. It spends most of its time feeing on the surface of small ponds and bays, spinning about like a twirling top. Like his Canadian cousins, the red and northern phalaropes, the male Wilson's Phalarope is passive in courtship, during which he may be pursued by rwo or more females. But in his subsequent role as a father, he is a dutiful partner.
Among this species it is not uncommon for a female to have two mates and two nestfuls of eggs at the same time. The male may help the female in piecing together their home (typically a grass-lined hollow in a concealed marshland spot), or she may be the sole nest builder. But in what is surely one of the most unconventional sex role reversals in nature, it is the father that guards each nest and incubates its eggs! When the nestlings hatch some 20 days later, the male continues his surrogate role, rearing the youngsters without any help from his mate. He is sonn enough at liberty, however, for the chicks gain independence in two or three weeks.
Photo credit: Dr. Lloyd Glenn Ingles © California Academy of Sciences
Source:American Nature, Reader's Digest
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