THE KNOTS; 233 



Young Birds. — Very similar to the winter pkininge of the 

 adults, being grey above and white below. They may, how- 

 ever, be easily distinguished by the marbled appearance of 

 the upper surface, the feathers being fringed with white, 

 before which is a narrow sub-marginal line of black. There is 

 also a tinge of buff over the throat, breast, and sides of the 

 body, these parts being thickly spotted with dusky-brown, 

 especially on the flanks. 



Adult Male in Summer Plumage. — Differs from the winter 

 plumage in having the under surface of the body chestnut, as 

 well as the eyebrow and sides of the face. The whole of the 

 upper surface also is suffused with chestnut, the feathers being 

 black in the centre with chestnut margins, while on the scapu- 

 lars and long inner secondaries, the chestnut colour is distri- 

 buted in the form of twin spots, often forming nearly complete 

 bars ; the white of the rump and upper tail-coverts is strongly 

 tinged wuth chestnut, and the black bars are very distinct; bill 

 and feet black ; iris dark hazel. Total length, 10 inches; cul- 

 men, 1-3 ; wing, 6*5 ; tail, 2-3 ; tarsus, it. 



Adult Female in Breeding Plumage. — Similar to the male, but 

 not so strongly suffused with chestnut above, and rather paler 

 chestnut below, with more white on the abdomen than in the 

 male, and having still considerable remains of black bars on 

 the flanks ; the axillaries regularly barred with black instead of 

 being white or only slightly freckled as in the male. Total 

 length, 10 inches ; wing, 6'6. 



Range in Great Britain. — The Knot is a very interesting bird, 

 visiting us in May on its journey northwards, while numbers 

 are observed on the return journey in the autumn ; many spend 

 the winter on our coasts, and some few, non-breeding birds, 

 appear never to migrate, as I have known birds in full red 

 plumage to have been shot in June. On the nth August, 1895, 

 a very early date for their return south, I w\is startled by hearing 

 their well-known notes above my garden at Chiswick. A large 

 migration was passing over-head at eleven o'clock in the day, 

 which was a very hot one, with a brilliant sun, but the birds were 

 at too great a height to be seen by the naked eye. At all times 

 the Knot seems to be more common on the east of Great 

 Britain, being rare on the western coast of Scotland, but occur- 



