308 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



is much less common than formerly. Although it appears in considerable 

 numbers during the spring migrations, between the isth of May and the 

 loth of June, it is far more common in the fall, arriving from the north 

 July 15th to the 30th, and passing southward from the loth to the 30th of 

 October. There are few records comparatively, from the interior of the 

 State. Mr Flahive has collected it near Penn Yan, Mr Bruce several on 

 the shore of Lake Ontario, Mr Heimstreet one in May and one in September 

 near Troy, Messrs Reinecke and Savage a few near Buffalo, and Mr Bagg 

 reports it from Oneida lake. The dates for the inland records range from 

 August 20th to October 15th. Mr Todd also records several specimens 

 from Erie, Pa., dates ranging from August 27th to September 17th. 



Knots feed both along the beach and the mud flats, often probing 

 like other snipes for the small insects and crustaceans which are their 

 principal food. Their note is a soft wah-quoit, usually heard when the birds 

 are coming to the decoys, or a diminutive honk. They often bunch so closely 

 like the dowitchers that the whole flock is sometimes destroyed while alight- 

 ing among the decoys [Mackay, Auk, 1893. i°- 25-35]. 



Arquatella maritima (Briinnich) 

 Purple Sandpiper 



Plate 34 



Tringa maritima Briinnich. Orn. Borealis. 1764. p. 54 



DeKav. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 237, fig. 98 

 A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 2. 1895. No. 235 



arquatel'la, Lat. dim. of arquata, arcuata, bent or bowed; marl'tima, 



Lat., maritime 



Description. Summer: Upper parts varied with black, chestnut, buff, 

 and whitish; under parts white streaked with dusky on the breast and 

 clouded with dusky on the sides. Winter: Upper parts ashy or dusky 

 gray, the feathers slightly margined with lighter and often with purplish 

 reflections; wing coverts and inner secondaries edged with white; rump 

 and middle tail feathers blackish ; outer tail feathers ashy gray ; lower neck, 

 breast, and sides beneath the wings ashy; rest of under parts white; legs 

 yellow or orange; bill yellow at base, greenish black toward the tip. 



