PLOVERS AND SANDPIPERS. 117 
at low tide. It may, however, be frequently 
observed in the company of Knots, Dunlins, and 
Ringed Plovers,on the mud-flats and sandy reaches. 
It usually seeks for its food close to the water, 
running over the rocks as each great wave breaks 
and retires, even darting into the seething drifts 
of surf, or coursing along the very edge of the 
rollers, where each one threatens to annihilate it as 
it breaks upon the shore. Occasionally it may be 
seen to swim just outside the surf, and when flushed 
it sometimes even alights upon the sea. Its food 
consists of crustaceans, sand-worms, molluscs, and 
insects; and, during summer, of seeds as well. 
Although most of this food is obtained whilst the 
tide is driving in, the bird may be seen in quest 
of it at the ebb. It frequently retires inland a 
little way, or rests upon a rocky islet or point, 
between the ebb and the flow of the tide. Its 
flight is rapid and straightforward, and often ac- 
companied by its shrill and quickly uttered ¢ee-wizt. 
The Purple Sandpiper, though social, is never seen 
on our coasts in very large flocks, and, perhaps, 
-most frequently in pairs or alone. In Norway, 
however, Collett states that it assembles in countless 
flocks during the winter. It is certainly one of 
the least shy of the Limicolz, and often permits 
of a close approach, especially when alone. 
The best known breeding-place of the Purple 
Sandpiper, and one of its most southerly summer 
stations, is on the Fardes. Other breeding places 
