_Spring._--As soon as spring asserts itself the purple sandpipers begin to desert their main winter range on the coast of New England, some leaving in March and only a very few stragglers lingering into May. On May 29, 1909, we saw a few late migrants on the south coast of Labrador, where I secured one in full nuptial plumage. Ludwig Kumlien (1879) says that the purple sandpiper is the first wader to arrive in the spring at Cumberland Sound.
The 4th of June Is the earliest date I met them at Annanactook; this was during a heavy snowstorm, and the earliest date possible that they could have found any of the rocks bare at low tide. The flock lit on the top of one of the small islands in the harbor and sheltered themselves from the storm by creeping behind and underneath ledges of rocks; they then huddled together like a flock of quails in winter. I have often noticed the same habit with them in late autumn, while they were waiting for low tide.
_Courtship._--The same writer refers to a courtship performance, as follows:
As the breeding season approaches the males have a peculiar cry, resembling somewhat that of _Actiturus bartramius_, but lower and not so prolonged. When this note is uttered they assume a very dignified strut, and often raise the wings up over the back and slowly fold them again, like the upland plover.
Like all sandpipers, they do much of their courtship on the wing, chasing one another in circles with rapid turns and shifts. On the ground I have seen the male bird approach the female with trailing wings, arched back, and head low down, occasionally hopping, like a courting pigeon.
This species seems to be rather rare in Baffin Land. I have two sets of eggs, given to me by Capt. Donald B. MacMillan, collected with the parent bird at Cape Dorset. J. Dewey Soper collected a female there, with enlarged ovaries, on June 8; but he saw only three birds during "the spring and summer of 1926 along the south coast of Baffin Island." He says in his notes:
The first sandpiper observed by me the following spring was of this species, a solitary male collected on June 2, 1925, at Nettilling Lake. The lakes were still ice-bound and the land mostly covered with snow, but here and there were small open pools. Along the border of one of these the bird was feeding in the thin layer of thawed mud among the grassy hummocks. On June 11, in the same locality near the Takuirbing River, several were observed and collected. When flushed they emit a grating _ick-ick-ick_ and when not too hard pressed will often light again a few yards away. They flush sluggishly, and when not come upon too abruptly will frequently elevate the wings leisurely above the back, as though stretching them before taking flight. On the whole, at this time, they were comparatively fearless and permitted close approach. Only one was observed giving a vocal performance on the wing. It rose slowly from the ground to a height of 15 or 20 feet and leisurely flying over the tundra gave a series of low, musical staccato notes resembling _to-wit-to-wit-to-wit-to-wit_, etc. The performance continues unbrokenly while the bird remains in the air over a distance of 25 or 30 yards.