PURPLE SANDPIPER. 91 



M. Vieillot says it is found in Normandy and Picardy, and 

 it is seen in spring and autumn in Provence, Switzerland, 

 and Italy. 



The prevailing bluish lead colour of this species at once 

 distinguishes it from every other British Sandpiper. The 

 beak is dark reddish brown ; the irides hazel ; the adult 

 male bird, in its summer plumage, has the head and neck 

 all round dusky grey, streaked with darker grey ; back, 

 scapulars, and tertials, bluish black, some of the feathers 

 margined with white, others with reddish buff; wing- 

 coverts dove grey, with lighter coloured margins ; primaries 

 dusky black, the shafts white, the outer narrow web of 

 each feather darker than the broader inner web ; secondaries 

 tipped with white ; upper tail-coverts almost black ; mid- 

 dle tail-feathers brownish black, long and pointed, the 

 others ash brown with lighter coloured edges ; chin white ; 

 breast nearly white, spotted with grey : vent, and under 

 tail- co verts white, with an occasional streak of grey ; legs 

 and toes dark reddish brown, the hind toe directed in- 

 wards ; the claws black. 



The whole length eight inches and a half. From the 

 carpal joint of the wing to the end of the first quill-feather, 

 which is the longest, five inches. The females are rather 

 larger than males. 



A bird killed in November, has the head, neck, back, 

 and upper tail-coverts, uniform lead grey; the wing-coverts 

 and tertials only with greyish white edges ; the under 

 surface changing from bluish grey to white. In another 

 specimen killed later in the year, the breast and all the 

 under parts are nearly white, with a few spots of grey. 



