218 
PRJECOCIAL G-RALLATORES — LIMICOL^E. 
gradually lighter to the exterior feather. Lesser and middle wing-coverts bordered terminally with 
grayish white or pale ash ; greater coverts tipped with pure white, forming a distinct bar across 
the wing ; secondaries narrowly tipped with white and faintly edged with light ashy, the three or 
four feathers adjoining the tertials mostly white ; primaries with white shafts, the inner quills 
edged, especially toward the base, with white. Pileum dusky, streaked with pale grayish huff 
(these streaks sometimes nearly obsolete) ; a conspicuous superciliary stripe of grayish white, 
streaked with dusky ; a broad grayish-dusky streaked stripe across the lores, from the bill to 
and beneath the eye, and continued rather indistinctly over the auriculars ; cheeks, lower part of 
throat, and foreneck grayish white, streaked with grayish dusky ; chin, and sometimes upper part 
of throat, unstreaked white; jugulum similarly but more broadly streaked ; breast grayish white 
or pale ashy, irregularly spotted with dusky, these spots occupying chiefly the central portion of 
each feather ; remaining lower parts white, the sides irregularly streaked and spotted with gray- 
ish ; crissum narrowly streaked with dusky ; axillars and lining of the wing pure white, the latter 
bordered externally with grayish. “ Bill brown, yellow at base ; tarsi and toes dusky yellow ; iris 
brown.” (Ivumlien, MS.) [Bill and legs dusky in dried skins. 1 ] Winter dress: Above, uniform 
smoky plumbeous, the scapulars, interscapulars, rump-feathers, and upper tail-coverts, darker cen- 
trally, where glossed with purple ; wings and tail as in the summer plumage. Head and neck 
uniform smoky plumbeous, darker immediately before the eye, and, to a less extent, on the crown ; 
the chin and upper part of throat, lower eyelid, and supraloral space, white ; jugulum and breast 
light smoky plumbeous, squamated with white ; remaining lower parts white, the sides broadly 
streaked with light brownish gray ; crissum with narrow mesial streaks of dusky. Young, first 
plumage : Above, quite similar to the breeding adult, but the dorsal feathers lacking the lateral 
ochraceous indentations, and the light borders to the feathers rather more regular, and more 
creamy in tint, the light borders to the wing-coverts also broader, and pale grayish buff instead of 
white or pale ashy ; nape and cheeks uniform smoky plumbeous ; lower parts much as in the 
summer adult. Downy young : Above, hair-brown, lighter and more grayish on the nape ; the 
brown irregularly marbled with black ; the wings, back, and rump thickly bespangled with whitish 
downy flecks on the tips of the down-tufts. Head pale fulvous, variously marked with black, the 
crown deep hair-brown, variegated with black. Beneath, entirely grayish- white. 
Total length, about 9 inches ; wing, 4.85-5.40 (5.06) ; culmen, 1.10-1.45 (1.20) ; tarsus, .90- 
LOO (.99) ; middle toe, .83-. 95 (.90). [Extreme and average dimensions of 13 adults.] 
The Purple Sandpiper belongs to both continents, and is a bird of somewhat 
irregular distribution. It is found in high Arctic regions, both in America and on 
the eastern continent, and yet lias been met with in the summer, and apparently 
breeding, on the Azores. Its occurrence, however, except in high northern regions, 
is comparatively rare. In North America it appears to be very rare near New 
York, and entirely unknown on the Atlantic coast south of there. I am informed 
by Mr. Batty, that although cpiite uncommon on Long Island, occasional stragglers 
are found there late in winter or early in spring. A single specimen was procured 
on Cape Cod, Mass., in full plumage, by Mr. William A. Jeffries, as early as Sept. 
G, 1877. Though rare in the interior, its presence on our Great Lakes is not wholly 
unknown. A fine adult male was obtained near Chicago, on the lake shore, Nov. 
7, 1871. It was in company with Sanderlings. This bird was not taken by the 
British Arctic Expedition of 1875-1876; but, according to Dr. Bessels, specimens 
were procured at Polaris Bay by Captain Hall’s party. 
It is not given by Dr. Cooper as found on the Pacific coast. Farther north than 
California, however, it has been met with. It was taken on the Island of St. Michael’s 
by Mr. Bannister, -who states that, in October, 1865, he obtained a number of speci- 
mens of this species at the Redoubt, where it then appeared to be quite common. In 
1 Audubon says : “ Bill deep orange, toward tlie end dusky ; edges of eyelids gray ; iris orange ; feet 
light orange, claws dusky.” 
