[Length 8.75 in. Wingspan 18 in.]

This Pectoral Sandpiper springing into flight was photographed at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, USA. Photo taken with a Soligor 300mm f5.6 lens on Ektachrome 200 film. (Date: September 1978)

[Length 8.75 in. Wingspan 18 in.]

This Pectoral Sandpiper was photographed during fall migration at the Cape May Meadows in Cape May, New Jersey, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: September 1991)

[Length 9 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

Purple Sandpipers get their name from the iridescent purple sheen of their back feathers in winter plumage. This is an example of naming a bird for a "field mark" that was observed with the bird "in the hand". Normally, this can only be seen under perfect light conditions and at very close range, which was the case when this bird was photographed. This Purple Sandpiper was photographed at Barnegat Light, New Jersey, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor EDAF 300 f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: December 2000)

[Length 9 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

This Purple Sandpiper in flight was photographed along a jetty on the southern coast of Long Island in New York, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: March 1983)

[Length 9 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

This Purple Sandpiper in flight was photographed along a jetty on the central coast of New Jersey, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 64 film. (Date: March 1983)

[Length 9 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

This Purple Sandpiper was photographed at Barnegat Light, New Jersey, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor EDAF 300 f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: December 2000)

[Length 9 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

Purple Sandpipers breed in the high Arctic coastal regions of eastern North America, northern Europe, and northcentral Russia. In winter they congregate in small flocks of as many as 50 to 75 birds. In North America they are common wintering birds of rocky coasts and jetties along the east coast of Canada and the US south to the Carolinas. They are quite tame, and can often be closely approached, as this one was on a wave-splashed jetty in midwinter. This one was photographed in the early morning light of mid-winter at Jones Beach in Long Island, New York, USA. Photo taken with a Celestron 750mm f5.6 lens on Ektachrome 400 film. (Date: February 1978)

[Length 9 in. Wingspan 17 in.]

This Purple Sandpiper was photographed at Port Mansfield, Texas, USA. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Nikkor 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens + Nikkor TC14E II 1.4x Teleconverter (EFL=630mm) on a Nikon D7000 camera. (Date: January 24, 2012)