112 NESTS AND EGGS OF 



of plumage, is tlie largest of the North American Sandpipers. It in- 

 habits most parts of the globe ; in America chiefly coastwise, and breeds 

 in high latitudes. It is migratory, and is also found in the interior 

 about large bodies of water and rivers. Red-breasted and Ash-colored 

 Sandpiper and Gray-back are other names for it. 



An authentic egg of the Knot has for many years been the object 

 of special and diligent search by eminent naturalists and explorers 

 traveling in Arctic regions where this bird is known to live during the 

 season of reproduction. 



Lieut. A. W. Greely, U. S. A. , Commander of the late Expedition 

 to Lady Franklin Sound, succeeded in obtaining the long-sought-for 

 egg of the Knot. C. H. Merriam publishes the first account of it, 

 written by Lieut. Greely, as follows: "The specimen of bird and egg 

 were obtained in the vicinity of Fort Conger, latitude of 8i° 44^ N. 

 The egg was i.io inch [28 mm.] in the longer axis, and i inch 

 [25.40 mm.J in the shorter. Color, light pea green, closely spotted 

 with brown in small specks about the size of a pin-head." * 



235. Tringa maritima Brunn. [530.] 



Purple Sandpipsr. 



Hab. Northern portions of Northern Hemisphere; in North America, chiefly the northeastern por- 

 tions, migrating south in winter to Eastern and Middle States. Mississippi Valley. 



The purple Sandpiper is found in the high Arctic regions of Amer- 

 ica and Europe. Said to be a resident of the Aleutian Islands. Breeds 

 in the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and in Greenland, where some remain in 

 the fiords of the southern portion all winter. 



Dr. Richardson states that it breeds abundantly on Melville Penin- 

 sula and on the shores of Hudson Bay. The nest is a mere depres- 

 sion in the soil with a scant lining of dry grass. 



The eggs are clay color, shaded with olivaceous, with large and 

 distinct markings of rich umber-brown of different depths of intensity 

 all over the shell, but most numerous as well as largest on the greater 

 half; pyriform; the eggs are usually four in number, and measure 

 about 1.40 by i.oo. 



236. Tringa couesi (Ridgw.) [531.] 



Aleutian Sandpiper. 



Hab. Coasts and islands of Bering Sea, north to St. Michael's. 



Closely allied to the last species, and the birds are hardly distin- 

 guishable in their respective winter plumages. It is common in the 

 Aleutian and other islands, and also along the coasts of Bering Sea as 

 far west as the Commander Islands. Dr. Stejneger records it as a resi- 

 dent of the latter group, found there during both summer and winter. 



»Auk. Vol. II., p. 813. 



