A little role reversal for the Grey Phalarope, named Red Phalarope in North America.
Flaring her feathers to attract the male it is the female on the left that has the striking breeding plumage. Usually smoothed over the back but being flared to attract the male in the dowdy plumage on the right. And it doesn’t end there after the eggs are laid the male is left to incubate, the female taking off to provide another male with a clutch of eggs to incubate or to join other females and non breeders on the coast.

Photographed near Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen.

laropus fulicarius

via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/wd5AiN