ˌfalərōˈpädəˌdē noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Phalaropod-, Phalaropus type genus, from phalaropus phalarope
: a family of small shorebirds that resemble sandpipers but have lobate toes and are good swimmers, breed in the arctic, winter in the tropics, and often occur in large flocks far out at sea, and are distinguished by having the female perform the courtship and the dully colored male the incubation