PLOVERS AND SANDPIPERS. 117 



at low tide. It may, however, be frequently 

 observed in the company of Knots, Dunlins, and 

 Ringed Plovers, on the mud-flats and sandy reaches. 

 It usually seeks for its food close to the water, 

 running over the rocks as each great wave breaks 

 and retires, even darting into the seething drifts 

 of surf, or coursing along the very edge of the 

 rollers, where each one threatens to annihilate it as 

 it breaks upon the shore. Occasionally it may be 

 seen to swim just outside the surf, and when flushed 

 it sometimes even alights upon the sea. Its food 

 consists of crustaceans, sand-worms, molluscs, and 

 insects ; and, during summer, of seeds as well. 

 Although most of this food is obtained whilst the 

 tide is driving in, the bird may be seen in quest 

 of it at the ebb. It frequently retires inland a 

 little way, or rests upon a rocky islet or point, 

 between the ebb and the flow of the tide. Its 

 flight is rapid and straightforward, and often ac- 

 companied by its shrill and quickly uttered tee-wit. 

 The Purple Sandpiper, though social, is never seen 

 on our coasts in very large flocks, and, perhaps, 

 most frequently in pairs or alone. In Norway, 

 however, Collett states that it assembles in countless 

 flocks during the winter. It is certainly one of 

 the least shy of the Limicolse, and often permits 

 of a close approach, especially when alone. 



The best known breeding-place of the Purple 

 Sandpiper, and one of its most southerly summer 

 stations, is on the Faroes. Other breeding places 



