THE PURPLE SANDPIPER. 591 



coverts same but glossed magenta -purple ; sides of back and rump 

 and lateral upper tail-coverts white, some feathers with median 

 streaks of dusky-brown ; sometimes a small ill-defined whitish 

 patch between lores and eye ; ear-coverts, cheeks and sides of neck 

 sooty-brown ; chin and throat white washed dusky ; breast sooty- 

 brown, most feathers edged white, lower -breast white more or less 

 streaked sooty-brown ; flanks white, centres of feathers mostly 

 sooty-brown ; under tail-coverts white streaked dusky ; remaining 

 under -parts white ; tail- 

 feathers ash-brown edged 

 white, two central pairs 

 black-brown ; primaries 

 black-brown paler on 

 inner webs, inner ones 

 tipped white, 5th or 6th 

 and succeeding with nar- 

 row white margins on ^&v^> -- 

 outer webs ; secondaries The Purple Sandpiper {CamHs m . marUima y 

 black-brown tipped white, 



inner webs paler and more or less white, inner ones more or 

 less white ; innermost and their coverts as mantle ; bastard-wing 

 sooty-brown ; primary-coverts same tipped white ; greater coverts 

 same but more broadly tipped white ; median and lesser coverts 

 black-brown or sooty-brown edged greyish white. This plumage 

 is acquired by complete moult Aug. to Nov. Summer. — The body- 

 feathers (apparently not all scapulars and not back, rump or upper 

 tail-coverts), sometimes some innermost secondaries and coverts 

 are moulted in spring but not rest of wings or tail. Crown black- 

 brown, feathers edged pink-cinnamon or buff ; nape streaked sooty, 

 feathers edged greyish-white or buff ; mantle and scapulars black- 

 brown glossed magenta -purple, feathers edged pink-cinnamon or 

 pink-buff ; remaining upper -parts as adult winter ; cheeks and 

 sides of neck white narrowly streaked black-brown ; chin white 

 spotted dusky ; throat white heavily streaked sooty-brown ; 

 breast sooty-brown, feathers barred and tipped white, lower-breast 

 mostly white, feathers with large oval sooty-brown spots ; flanks 

 and under tail-coverts white with irregular median marks and 

 shadings of sooty-brown ; belly white, somewhat blotched sooty- 

 brown ; remaining under -parts, tail and wing as winter but new 

 innermost secondaries black-brown, tipped buff. 



Nestling. — Fore -part of crown warm buff ; black-brown median 

 line from base of upper mandible to crown ; crown and upper -parts 

 velvety-black-brown, down with numerous cream and warm buff 

 tips ; nape light buff, down with sooty-brown bases ; from base of 

 upper mandible above eye to nape a black-brown streak, another 

 short one from base of lower mandible, ear-coverts as crown ; 

 cheeks warm or light buff, down with black-brown tips ; remaining 

 under-parts greyish -white, down sooty-brown towards base. (Only 

 one examined.) 



