TRiya.i MARITIMA. jgn 



uplands. Their notes are also petailiar, one cry in particular, being loudly given and great- 

 ly prolonged, resembling the scrciim of a rapacious bird more than the whistle of a Sand- 

 piper. As will be seen by the description, they present .some anatomical features not shared 

 in (;onuuou with any other species of the group which I have examined. 



Bonaparte's Sandpipers arrive from the North, a little later than the general flight of 

 shore birds, appearing in September; then soon depart for the South. I once shot a spec- 

 imen in Florida in winter, but this was the only one I ever saw in the State, neither did 

 I ever see them further north at this season, so judge that they pass the winter .south of 

 the United States. They are quite rare in New England during spring; insonuich so, that 

 the only specimens that I ever saw in the full summer plumage, were the two from the 

 cabinets of Messrs. Dowse and Ilapgood, which they procured at Chatham in the spring of 

 1880. I think that authentic specimens of the eggs of this species are unknown. 



TRINGA MARITIMA. 



Purple Sandpiper. 



Trine/a marilima Brunn., Orn. Bor.; 1764, 54. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. Cii. Form, robust. Size, meJiuin. Bill, straight, about as long as liead, slender, and not wilenedat tip. Legv, 

 short. Toes, without liasal membrane. Tongue, long, thin, and slender, tapering toward tij) wl;icli i^ pointed. Outer mar- 

 ginal indentations, twice a"* deep as inner. 



Color. Adult. Above, dark smoky brown, becoming ashy on the neck and having a vi )let tinge on the back. All 

 the feathers, excepting primaries, are edged with dark bluish-ash which becomes whitish on the wings. Outer tail feath- 

 ers, ashy, tipped with white. Sides of head, neck all around, and upper breast, bluis!i-ash. Remainder of under parts, 

 white, streaked with ashy everj'where, excepting on abdomen. Lower eyelid and spot in front of eye. white. 



Youni/. Similar to the adult but some of the feathers above are edged with yellowish and ruf lus. Bill, dark-brown, 

 lighter at base, iris, brown, legs, greenish-yellow, in all stages. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Known by the general dark hluish-ash color, violet tinging above, and short legs. Distriliuted, in summer, through- 

 out the Arctic Regions. Winters along the coast of the Northern and Middle States. 



DDIKNSIOXS. 

 .Average measurements of specimens from Eastern North America. Length. 8.M); stretcli, IISO; wing, .'>'25; tail. 225; 

 bill, Vli; tarsus, '85. Longe't specimen, 9 O'J; greatest extent of wing, 1500- longest wing, 5 51; tail, 2 5;); bill, r25; tar- 

 <^'is, 10i>. Shortest specimen, 8-00; smallest extent of wing, 1400; shortest wing, 5-00: tail, 300; bill, 100; tarsus, "5. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 

 E'/'/s, placed on the ground in a slight depression of the soil, on a little grass, etc., three or four in number, decided- 

 h pyriform insliapp, varying from yellowish-ash to greenish in color, spotted and blotched irregularly, and ratlicr coarse- 

 ly, with brown of varying shades. Dimensions from 'OOx 130 to lOOx 140. 



HABITS. 



The plumtige of the Purple Sandpipers is particuhirly long and full, proclaiming that 

 they are inhabitants of a boreal clime, and they are most emphatically birds of the North, 

 few being found south of New Jersey and tliey are rare even that far south; in fact, the 

 greater portion pa.ss the winter norlli of Ma.ssachusetts, peopling the rocky, iidiospitable 

 shores of M.'iine and New Brunswick. They arrive on Grand Menan late in October and grad- 

 ually push their w;iy southward. They appear to be somewhat limited in distribution in 

 Ma.ssachusetts; thus they are not common north of Cape Ann but always occur in numbers 

 on the rocky islands of Beverly Harbor. The note of the Purple Sandpipers is a feeble 



