CATALOGUE OF BIRDS. 143 



two or three occasions, in Norfolk, I have been able to 

 crawl within a few yards of one of these large bodies, 

 and have had a first-rate opportunity for observing 

 their pugnacious habits. Their battles appear to be 

 of but short duration. A couple of Kuffs square up to 

 one another for a moment or two, and then separate 

 to feed, or again go through the same performance 

 with their nearest neighbour. Though they occasion- 

 ally jump and strike after the manner of a game cock, 

 I have never noticed any of the combatants to receive 

 the slightest injury. 



A large flock of Buffs and Reeves is a most curious 

 sight ; the various plumages of the males, as they run 

 rapidly here and there, giving a kind of piebald appear- 

 ance to the whole assemblage. 



The specimens in the case male, female, and eggs 

 were obtained in the marshes in the neighbourhood 

 of Potter Heigham, in Norfolk, in May, 1870. 



PURPLE SANDPIPER. (SUMMER.) 



Case 171. 



Though the nest of the Purple Sandpiper has never 

 been discovered on our shores, the bird itself may be 

 met with at all seasons. It is, perhaps, most abun- 

 dant along the rocky coast between the Fern Islands 

 and the Bass Rock, occasionally, however, making its 

 appearance in considerable numbers all round the 

 island, in every case where I have observed it confining 

 itself to the sea-shore. 



The specimens in the case were shot on the Carr 

 Rocks, off the coast of Haddingtonshire, in June, 

 1865. 



