SCOLOPACIDJE. 189 



is reported to lay four eggs, on a tuft of grass or herbage, 

 without forming any nest, their colour light yellowish-brown, 

 spotted at the larger end with grey and reddish. 



THE BUFF- BREASTED SANDPIPER. Tringa rufescens. In 

 a few instances this bird has been met with in this country, 

 but its home is in America, where its extends from the 

 Brazils northward, and is conjectured to breed near the 

 Arctic Circle.. 



THE PURPLE OR KOCK SANDPIPER. Tringa maritima. 

 Although breeding in northern latitudes, this species is to 

 be found during the winter and spring along our coasts, and 

 a few birds may even incubate in this country ; but if so, 

 Britain would probably be the extreme limit of their range 

 southward during the season of nidification. Its nest is 

 composed of a little moss or other herbage, placed in some 

 hollow on the earth, and the eggs, which are four in number, 

 and about the size of those of the Dunlin, are of a yellowish- 

 grey colour, spotted with pale-brown chiefly at the thicker 

 end. 



THE CURLEW SANDPIPER. Tringa subarquata. Spring, 

 autumn, and winter are the seasons during which the present 

 species is met with in this country, though occasionally it is 

 believed to breed with us. It inhabits northern Europe and 



