PHALAROPE

[phal.a.rope] n, pl -ropes also -rope [F, fr. NL phalaropod-, phalaropus, fr. Gk phalaris coot + pod-, pous foot; akin to Gk phalios having a white spot--more at bald, foot] (ca. 1776): any of a genus (Phalaropus) of small shorebirds that are related to sandpipers but have lobate toes and are good swimmers