962 THE PURPLE SANDPIPER. 



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

 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 ob- 

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

 When started along the shores, they emit a feeble iveet, 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 nimbi)'' 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 industriously among the 

 sea-weeds for marine insects. Their marked predilection 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 1 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'^ lines long, and an inch across at 

 their greatest breadth. Their colour is yellowish-grey, interspersed with 

 small irregular spots of pale brown, crowded at the obtuse end, and rare at 

 the other." 



Tringa maritima, Bonap. Syn., p. 318. 



Tringa maritima, Purple Sandpiper, Swains, and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. p. 382. 



Porple Sandpiper, Tringa maritima, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. hi. p. 558. 



Male, 91-, 14f. 



Abundant from Maine to New York, in autumn and spring. Breeds in 

 Hudson's Bay, and on Melville Island. 



Adult in summer. 



Bill longer than the head, almost straight, subulate, compressed at the 

 base, flexible; upper mandible with the dorsal line almost straight, being 

 slightly deflected towards the end, the ridge narrow and convex, towards the 

 end broader, the sides sloping, the edges rather obtuse. Nostrils basal, 

 lateral, linear; nasal groove extending to near the end of the bill. Lower 

 mandible with the angle long and very narrow, the dorsal line beyond it 

 slightly concave, the sides sloping upwards with a narrow groove, the tip 

 rounded. 



