338 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF 



northof continental Europeand Asiais strongpresumptive 

 evidence that no suitable land exists in the Polar Basin 

 north of that area, and that its only breeding grounds are 

 in Greenland and on the various islands that lie in high 

 latitudes north of the American continent. Although 

 many of the habits of this species during the breeding 

 season have been observed, and its young in down secured, 

 the eggs still remain undiscovered. It always seems to 

 the present writer a most unpardonable and incredible 

 piece of neglect on the part of the naturalist attached to 

 the latest British Polar Expedition to have missed the 

 eecrs of the Knot. The bird was observed to arrive at 

 its breeding places, to pair, and then actually to be lost 

 sight of until the eggs were hatched ! Several reputed 

 eggs of the Knot are in collections, but none of them are 

 authenticated. The reputed ^^g obtained by the Greely 

 Expedition near Fort Conger is unidentified, and ap- 

 parently too small (ri inch in length, by ro inch in 

 breadth). The Q:gg in the possession of Mr. Seebohm 

 (which I have examined), although unauthenticated, is 

 more likely to be genuine so far as size is concerned, 

 being similar to that of the Common Snipe, but paler in 

 ground colour. This ^gg was obtained at Disco in 

 Greenland ; in my opinion a locality much too far south. 

 This, however, is not the most southerly locality at 

 which reputed eggs of the Knot have been obtained. 

 Mr. Raine, in his Bird-nesting in Noj-th-west Canada^ 

 figures and describes what he asserts to be two eggs of 

 this bird, taken on the 20th of June, 1889, at Raedodavmsi, 

 in Iceland ! The account is circumstantial enough, but 

 unfortunately the parent birds appear not to have been 

 obtained or even identified. It is only fair to say that 

 Mr. Raine's eggs agree apparently in colour with that 

 obtained by Lieutenant Greely, but are larger in size, 

 and certainly, judging from the illustrations, very 



