470 SANDPIPERS AND RELATED SPECIES 



range tends to the east. This is no doubt due mainly to the fact that 

 in autumn their numbers are considerably increased by the young 

 birds of the year, but also to the greater tendency to spread and 

 linger by the way than on the spring passage. The difference is 

 more marked in the case of the little-stint, there being but few 

 records of its occurrence on the spring passage, while the curlew- 

 sandpiper, although less numerous than in autumn, is fairly regular 

 in its appearance. A probable explanation is that of the large 

 numbers of curlew-sandpipers which in spring congregate on the 

 marshes in the south of Spain, some proceed northwards by the west 

 coast of France, while the little-stint adheres more strictly to the 

 main eastern route. The latter species may commence the spring 

 passage somewhat earlier than the curlew-sandpiper, as it has been 

 observed on the Sussex coast in the end of March and early in April. 1 

 But the chief movement of the two species does not take place until 

 May and lasts till about mid-June. On the autumn passage in August 

 and September both species visit inland localities as well as the coasts. 



The purple-sandpiper prefers rocky shores, and although some- 

 what erratic, is in winter fairly plentiful in suitable localities. It is 

 rare on the east and south-east coasts, but in some seasons it appears 

 in large numbers, when its distribution may be more general. 



Although most of the species of this genus breed among herbage, 

 yet the nest of none of them is concealed so deeply in long grass as is 

 that of the dunlin. The curlew-sandpiper generally nests in barren, 

 exposed places where the vegetation is too scanty to provide conceal- 

 ment for the eggs. The same may be said to apply, but in lesser 

 degree, to the purple-sandpiper, although the latter species and also 

 the little-stint nest under cover of vegetation when it is available in 

 their breeding-places. 



Information as to the courting habits of these species is exceedingly 

 scanty. The males of most of them indulge in a spring flight and song, 

 comparable with the " drumming " flight of the snipe. The spring- 



1 B. 0. C. Migration Report, August 1911, vol. xxviii. p. 177. 



