232 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



tipi)ed; hi-lcnc. zchitc: sides of breast and sides, with 

 dusky markings more distinct and wedge-shaped on 

 sides; an indistinct dusky Hne from gape through 

 and back of eye; legs and bill, dusky-greenish; iris, 

 brown. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : A depression in the ground, 

 lined with grass. Eggs : 4, light pea-green, speckled 

 with brown. 



Distribution. — Northern and southern hemispheres ; 



breeds from northern EUesmere Land south to 

 Melville Peninsula and Iceland, and also on Taimyr 

 Peninsula, Siberia ; winters south to southern Pata- 

 gonia, and from the Mediterranean to South Africa, 

 India, Australia, and New Zealand ; casual in winter 

 on the Atlantic coast of the United States; in migration 

 occurs on the Atlantic coast of North America and 

 over most of the eastern hemisphere; rare in the 

 interior of North ,'Kmerica and on the Pacific coast. 



A flock of Knots tripping along the beach in 

 their spring plumage with rufous breasts gives 

 the observer the impression that some Robins 

 have acquired nautical propensities and come 

 down to the ocean for a change of food. While 

 following the retreating surges gleaning minute 

 Crustacea left stranded by the recession of the 

 waves they talk in soft low notes to one another 

 and are so preoccupied that they often come 

 within a few feet of a motionless watcher. 



After nesting in the extreme North they return 

 to the coast in the autumn witli an entirely differ- 

 ent dress, no longer with the robin's breast, but 

 with a soft gray above and white below. 



Like some other maritime birds, individuals 

 often remain as far south as Long Island, New 

 York, all summer, being apparently not interested 

 in marital duties — wise bachelors or old maids 

 who prefer a good table and comfortable climate 

 to the long journey and inclemency of the Arctic 



Circle, where those with a proper sense of domes- 

 tic responsibility settle down for a few weeks 

 and raise a family. 



When not harassed by gunners they are 

 remarkably gentle and unsuspicious, and I have 

 laid in a hollow scooped out of the sand while 

 a flock fed all around me, one or two actually 

 peeping over the edge of the pit, within three 

 feet of my face ! 



The Knot is an industrious eater of grass- 

 hoppers which are injurious to crops, and of 

 crawfishes which do much damage in rice and 

 corn fields in the South and to levees by boring 

 into and weakening them. It also feeds upon the 

 marine worms which are destructive parasites of 

 the oyster, and upon the diving beetles which 

 prey upon the natural insect food of fish. For 

 these services it is entitled at least to such pro- 

 tection as will guard against any decrease of the 

 species. R. I. Brasher. 



PURPLE SANDPIPER 



Arquatella maritima maritima { Briinnich) 



\. O V. Xumht-r 2,^5 See Color Plate .u 



Other Names. — Rock Sandpiper: Rock Snipe; Rock 

 Plover; Rock-bird; Rockweed Bird; Winter Rock- 

 bird ; Winter Snipe. 



General Description. — Length. 9 inches. Principal 

 colors, black and white. Legs short and strong. General 

 build, short, thick, and squatty. 



Color. — Adults in Summer: U/^pcy f'arts. black: 

 crown, streaked with yellowish or grayish-wliite ; back 

 and shoulders varied with chestnut, pale buff, or 

 whitish, the reddish color on sides, the paler colors 

 tipping the feathers; sides of head, with a rufous 

 wash, separated from the crown by a whitish line ; 

 under parts, white shaded on throat and breast with 

 tawny and here and there streaked with blackish ; rest 

 of lower parts with dusky-gray markings ; rump and 

 upper tail-covertf . plain dusky; wings, dusky; lesser 

 wing-coverts, narrowly tipped with white : greater 

 coverts, broadly tipped with the same ; secondaries. 



mostly white increasing in size toward the inner 

 feathers; inner tail-feathers, dusky; outer ones, gray. 

 Adults in Winter: Entire upper parts, soft blackish- 

 brown with purple reflections, each feather lighter bor- 

 dered ; greater and lesser wing-coverts, inner second- 

 aries, and shoulders, edged and tipped with white ; 

 secondaries, broadly tipped with white ; primaries, deep 

 dusky : upper tail-coverts and middle tail-feathers, like 

 color of back; outside tail-feathers, li.ght ashy; throat 

 and breast, brmvnish-ash shading into the white of rest 

 of under parts; feathers of side, with wedge-shaped 

 light dusky centers; lores, dusky; eye-ring, whitish; bill, 

 yellow with dusky tip ; feet, dull orange-red. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : Slight depression in the 

 ground, thinly lined with dry grass. Eggs: 4, grayish 

 olive, boldly and distinctly marked with rich burnt 

 umber over the entire surface. 



Distribution. — Northern hemisphere; breeds from 



