( 658 ) 



THE PURPLE SANDPIPER. 



Trixga maritima, Brunn. 



PLATE CCLXXXIV. Addlt in summer axd in winter. 



I AM surprised that my worthy friend Thomas Ndttall speaks of 

 this species as being scarcely ever seen in the United States, where, to my 

 knowledge, it is on the contrary very abundant, and nowhere more so 

 than in the neighbourhood of the Harbour of Boston, in tiie markets of 

 which city it is sold in autumn and winter. AVhen I was there, a gun- 

 ner whom I employed brought me several dozens, which he had killed 

 in the course of a single afternoon. I have also seen some in the markets 

 of New York. Farther south, however, they are rarely met with. 



Timid though not shy, they are seen in flocks of eight or ten, on the 

 rocky shores of the sea. They seem to shun sandy beaches, and seldom 

 advance far inland. While I was on the Bay of Fundy, I observed nu- 

 merous small flocks winging their way northward, in the month of May. 

 On one occasion, a flock alighted almost at my feet, so that I was obliged 

 to retire to a proper distance before shooting at them. 



Their flight is pretty rapid, and when necessary sustained, for I have 

 observed them flying in compact bodies across the Gulf of St Lawrence. 

 When started along the shores, they emit a feeble weet, which is repeated 

 two or three times, take a sweep over the water, and return to the same 

 spot or near it, somewhat in the manner of the Spotted Sandpiper. They 

 are generally very busy while searching for food, run nimbly with the 

 body lowered on the legs, which are much bent, go to the edge of the 

 water seize on small shell-fish, shrimps and worms, and search industri- 

 ously among the sea-weeds for marine insects. Their marked predilec- 

 tion for rocky shores has caused them to be named " Rock Snipes" by the 

 gunners of our eastern coast. In autumn and winter the young birds 

 become fat, and afford delicate eating. 



I was sadly disappointed at not finding them breeding on any part 

 of the coast of Labrador which I visited, the more so because Dr 

 Richardson says they are abundant on the shores of Hudson's Bay, 

 where they breed. He gives no description of the nest or localities on 

 which they deposit their eggs, which are said to be " pyriform, 16^ Hnes 



