First case of wintering of Red Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius in Italy

The Red Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia.It has a large global population estimated at 1,620,000 individuals in North America (Andres et al. 2012) and 1,100-3,400 in Europe (Birdlife International 2015).According to Snow & Perrins (1998), this species is a true migrant that travels via marine routes and has been observed migrating 80-160 km offshore.Adult females depart from the breeding grounds in early June, followed by the adult males and juveniles in late July and August, most arriving in the nonbreeding quarters by the end of November.The species leaves its wintering grounds along the Chilean and South African seas in March, and West African and south-west African seas in April, flying along the Arctic coasts and reoccupying breeding grounds from late May to early June.In Europe it breeds in Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard.Records of wintering birds, albeit very rare, have been recorded along the Atlantic coast of France (Dubois et al. 2008) and Spain (De Juana & Garcia 2015).Winter records in the Mediterranean Sea have been reported from Spain