Of about the same size as the Dowitchers, length 10.5 inches, but with a much shorter bill. In summer the entire under parts are a uniform reddish chestnut color. They are known to breed in Arctic America, from Point Barrow and Hudson Bay, northward, but no authentic eggs are known, at present, to exist in collections. One taken from a bird by Lieut. Greely, was a pea green color, specked with brown; size 1.10 × 1.00. As it was not fully developed, it was probably correct neither as to size nor color. 235. PURPLE SANDPIPER. _Arquatella maritima maritima_. Range.--Arctic regions, wintering south to the Middle States and the Great Lakes, but chiefly on the coast. A grayish and blackish colored species, about nine inches long. It nests in northern Labrador, about Hudson Bay and in Iceland. Its eggs are a grayish buff color handsomely splashed with rich shades of brown and obscure markings of darker gray. Data.--Northern Iceland, June 7, 1897. Four eggs. Nest a hollow in the ground among grass and weeds and lined with a few grasses. Collector, C. Jefferys. 235a. ALEUTIAN SANDPIPER. _Arguatella maritima couesi_. Range.--Supposed to be a resident on the coast and islands of Alaska, from the Aleutians northward. A very similar species to the preceding; scarcely distinguishable. These Sandpipers, which are found in Alaska at all seasons of the year, breed during May and June. Their nesting habits are the same as those of the preceding bird and the eggs are indistinguishable. Size 1.40 × 1.00. Data.--Unalaska, Bering Sea, June 3, 1898. Nest containing four eggs, a depression in the moss, lined with grasses and bits of moss. The eggs were laid with their small ends together. [Illustration 148: Knot. Purple Sandpiper.] [Illustration: Grayish buff.] [Illustration: deco.] [Illustration: left hand margin.] Page 147 237. PRIBILOF SANDPIPER. _Arquatella maritina ptilocnemis_. Range.--Coast and islands of Bering Sea, south in winter to southern Alaska. This bird, which is ten inches in length, has the feathers of the upper parts edged with rusty, and the underparts light, with a distinguishing patch of black on the breast. Similar in appearance to the Red-backed Sandpiper, but not so reddish above, and the latter has the black patch on the belly. They breed commonly on the Pribilof and other islands in Bering Sea, nesting the same as other Sandpipers. Their four eggs are similar to those of the preceding, but average darker. Size 1.50 × 1.05. 238. SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER. _Pisobia aurita_. Range.--An Asiatic species, quite abundant in Alaska in the summer; supposed to migrate south in winter, wholly on the Asiatic side of the Pacific. A similar bird, in appearance, to the following, but slightly smaller and with the breast more ruddy. Its nesting habits probably do not differ from those of the following Sandpiper. 239. PECTORAL SANDPIPER. _Pisobia maculata_.