PURPLE SANDPIPER. 115 



America, it is met with in marshes, near the sea, as usual, 

 and feeds upon small insects and worms. It breeds probably 

 in the remote and desolate regions of the Arctic circle. It is 

 a bird of passage, seen along the banks of rivers in the 

 eastern parts of Europe, and is not uncommon in the spring 

 season on the borders of lakes in Switzerland. 



The length of this species is about 7 inches. Tire head, and hind 

 head is of a blackish-brown, divided by two longitudinal rufous 

 bands ; line over the eyes white with brown dots ; the stripe between 

 the bill and the eye of a blackish-brown; sides of the head whitish, 

 striped with brown ; nape ash-color, striped with the same. Back 

 and scapulars black, slenderly edged with rufous, the latter with 

 longitudinal touches of whitish upon their outer webs. Wing cov- 

 erts blackish towards their ends, the feathers tipped with reddish 

 white. Throat, vent, and abdomen white ; the sides and fore part of 

 the neck reddish white, with small brown stripes along the shafts, all 

 terminated with white. Some large brown spots upon the flanks ; 

 and upon the white feathers of the lateral tail coverts are some lan- 

 ceolate spots. Middle tail feathers black, bordered with rufous; the 

 lateral, and quills edged with pale grey. Bill black, but reddish- 

 grey at base. — Summer plumage. In the young, the colors are 

 fainter. 



PURPLE SANDPIPER. 



(Tringa maritima, Brunich. Orn. Borealis, No. 182. Gjiel. Lath. 

 Ind. Orn. ii. p. 731. sp. 18. Temm. Man. d'Orn. ii. p. 619. [ed. 

 alt.] BoNAP. Am. Orn. Mss. T. nigricans, Lin. Trans, iv. p. 

 40. t. 2. fig. 2. T. striata, Gmel. i. p. 672. Lath. Striated Sand- 

 piper, Arct. Zool. xi. No. 383.. Lath. Syn. v. p. 176. Selninger 

 Sandpiper, Lath. Syn. v. p. 173. 15 ? Arct. Zool. ii. p. 480.) 



Sp. Charact. — Bill longer than the head, hardly curved at the 

 point, compressed and reddish at the base ; rump black ; the mid- 

 dle tail feathers longest; feet reddish-yellow, the naked space 

 above the knee very small. — Summer plumage purplish-black, va- 

 ried with white and rufous ; beneath whitish, with dusky spots. 

 Winter dress, blackish, beneath whitish, streaked with dusky. 



The Purple Sandpiper, is another of those wandering 

 species common to the cold regions of both continents, con- 



