73 



but Salvador! records a fine specimen obtained in Piedmont, and now in the Turin Museum, and 

 others are said to have been obtained near Venice and in Liguria. It does not appear to visit 

 the south, and Salvadori puts no faith in Cara's assertion that it has been found in Sardinia ; 

 but, on the other hand, Mr. A. B. Brooke writes (Ibis, 1873, p. 339), it " has been killed several 

 times near Capo St. Elia. This Sandpiper is not very uncommon round the Gulf of Genoa ; and 

 therefore I can see no reason for doubting the accuracy of Signor Cara's observations on this 

 species." Dr. Kriiper states that it occurs rarely in Greece during winter; and Erhardt records 

 it from the Cyclades as a migrant. The Bitter von Tschusi-Schmidhofen tells me that he knows 

 of no instance of its occurrence in Austria ; but, according to Jukowitz, it is said to have occurred 

 on the Neusiedler lake, in Hungary, in 1857. 



I do not find any record of its occurrence on the coasts of Asia Minor or North-east Africa ; 

 nor does Favier record it from Tangier, though it doubtless occurs in North-west Africa. Mr. F. 

 DuCane Godman, who met with it in the Azores, says (Ibis, 1866, p. 101) that "a small flock 

 was usually to be seen in company with some Turnstones about the rocks near Santa Cruz, in 

 Flores. I was told that in summer they are frequently seen upon the rough pasture-land, high 

 up in the mountains. The people say they go there to feed in hot weather ; but I suspect they 

 breed there as well, since a lad at Santa Cruz told me that he had shot very young birds. No 

 one, however, that I met with could give me any information about their nesting-habits. The 

 only specimen I procured was a male in full summer plumage, and was shot in June." I find 

 no record of its occurrence on the west or south coasts of Africa, beyond the statement made by 

 Dr. Finsch (Abh. naturw. Ver. Brem. iii. p. 65) to the effect that he has examined a specimen 

 from the Cape of Good Hope. 



It is found in North Asia ; but I find no data respecting its occurrence there, except that by 

 Von Middendorff, who says that he shot three examples in 75° N. lat, on the 9th of August, but 

 did not again observe it. 



I am indebted to Dr. E. Coues for the following notes respecting its occurrence in North 

 America : — " In North America the Purple Sandpiper is a common bird of the coasts, as far 

 south as the middle States, beyond which its occurrence may be questioned. Although one of 

 the more noticeably maritime species of this group, it nevertheless is found on some of the larger 

 inland waters of the United States, especially in the region of the Great Lakes. It is said to be 

 common on the shores of Lake Michigan ; and Dr. P. R. Hoy, of Racine, Wisconsin, has noted its 

 occurrence in Missouri. It is one of the eminently boreal species, wintering along the New- 

 England coast, and only breeding, so far as I am aware, in the higher latitudes. I found it on 

 the Labrador coast in summer, but not under circumstances enabling me to be at all confident of 

 its breeding there ; for, as is well known, Sandpipers continually appear in August, and even in 

 July, in places where they do not nest. The partiality of this species for rocky coasts laden 

 with sea-weeds, rather than for those open sandy beaches where most other Sandpipers resort, is 

 perhaps the most notable point in its life-history. The shortness of its legs, which are feathered 

 to the suffrago, together with its coloration, give it a peculiar aspect as it scrambles among the 

 weedy rocks, with which it is partly assimilated in hue." To this I may add that Mr. Dall (Trans. 

 Chic. Acad. Sc. i. p. 291) says that one was obtained a mile or two below Nulato, on the Yukon, 

 and another at Pastolik, but its nest and eggs were not seen. He also obtained one at St. George's 



