PURPLE SANDPIPER. 135 



shores of the Baltic, and on similar coasts of the Mediter- 

 ranean, in the West of England, and around Hudson Bay, 

 these birds are common. In Russia, Siberia, and Iceland 

 they are also found, but less frequently. In the warmer parts 

 of America they are rare. Leaving the inclement coasts of 

 their nativity, they proceed probably by Greenland, and mi- 

 grate directly to the rocky coasts of Norway, and in the course 

 of the winter visit for a while the colder parts of Europe. 

 According to Dr. Richardson, they breed abundantly on the 

 shores of Hudson Bay, as well as in that coldest and most 

 desolate of boreal climates, Melville Peninsula, laying the usual 

 number of eggs, which are of a pyriform figure sixteen and a 

 half lines long, and an inch across at the larger end. They are 

 yellowish gray, interspersed with small irregular spots of pale 

 hair-brown, more abundant at the larger end, and rare at 

 the other. This bird is seldom seen inland or on the borders 

 of rivers, where its appearance is accidental ; its piping note is 

 very similar to that of other species ; is not shy, often caught 

 in snares, and the iiesh accounted palatable. 



The Purple Sandpiper is an abundant bird along the shores of 

 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia during the winter months, ap- 

 pearing in large flocks, and feeding on the rocks and the stony 

 beaches. So large are the flocks, and so compactly do the birds 

 rise when flushed, that I have known sixty-five to be killed at one 

 shot. 



In Massachusetts this bird is rather uncommon, and is seen only 

 in small groups of three or four, and similar groups are occasion- 

 ally seen on Long Island. It occurs on the shores of the Great 

 Lakes, and Mr. D. G. Elliot says " it is not uncommon on the shores 

 of Lake Michigan, and has been noted as occurring in Missouri." 



Mr. Hagerup reports that a few individuals remain in Greenland 

 during the winter months. 



