i86 



British Birds. 



The Puri'le Sandpiper. 



of Northern Scotland, l)ut no authentic 

 instances of its nestinp; within Britisli 

 limits are known. It breeds, however, 

 in the Arctic Regions of Europe and 

 North-eastern America, and has re- 

 cently been found nestinf^ in Franz 

 Josef Land by the Jackson-Harms- 

 worth Expedition. It is easily recog- 

 nised by its black rump and upper tail- 

 coverts, and its white inner secondaries. 

 In the winter plumage, in which the 

 back is sooty black, there is a distinct 



tinge of purple, from which the bird gets its name. The summer plumage is 



very dull and has an admixture of rufous on the upper parts. The present species 



is found on rocky coasts and on the sea-shore, but it does not frequent mud-fiats 



in the manner of a Dunlm. The nest is a depression in the moss, and the 



eggs are four in number, pear-shaped, like those of the Dunlin, but are larger, 



and measure about an inch-and-a-half in length. 



The tarsus in this species is longer, and exceeds the length 

 of the middle toe. The bill is slightly curved downwards and is 

 very slender. The Curlew Sandpiper is a regular autumn visitor 

 to all our coasts, and on the return journey in spring a few 

 red-plumaged birds also occur. Although found nearl}' all over 



the world in the winter season, the nesting-place of the Curlew Sandpiper 



remained a ni}stery until 1IS97, when Mr. H. L. Popham discovered the eggs at the 



mouth of the Yenesei. The nest was a 



depression in the ground and the eggs 



closel}' resembled those of the Purple 



Sandpiper. In its habits the present 



species is much like a Dunlin, from 



which it may be distinguished by its 



white rump and upper tail-coverts. 



Young birds, which are most frequently 



met with on our English coasts, have 



some buff-coloured edges to the feathers 



of the upper surface, and there is a tinge 



of buff on the fore-neck and breast. _ 



Like the foregoing species, the Knot is rufous in summer, 

 and white underneath in winter, and the young birds are freckled 

 with white margins to the feathers of the upper surface. The 



bill in the Knot is straight and somewhat widened at the end, and the middle 



THE CURLEW- 

 SANDPIPER. 

 {Ancylochilns 

 subarquatiis.) 



The Curlew-Saxdph'Ef 



THE KNOT. 



(Tringa canutus.) 



