AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 73 



I do not quote my private conviction as a verified 

 fact. 



The Knot certainly breeds in the circumpolar 

 regions, as young birds that could only have been a 

 few days hatched were met with by Major Feilden, 

 who was attached as naturalist to H.M.S. ' Alert,' 

 and Mr. Chichester Hart, who occupied a similar 

 position aboard of the ' Discovery,' on the Arctic 

 Expedition in 1876, in latitudes 82° and 81° N., 

 during the month of July ; and records of the finding 

 of eggs by previous Arctic explorers are in existence, 

 but it seems that none of these eggs reached England, 

 and that well-identified specimens of these " shells " 

 stand first in the lists of the desiderata of collectors, 

 alongside of those of the Curlew Sandpiper. 



The Knot arrives on our eastern coasts as a rule 

 about the beginning of August, and fresh arrivals 

 from the north keep dropping in throughout that 

 and the following month, and the vast flocks that 

 have congregated in favourite localities remain till 

 the weather becomes very severe, or they are exter- 

 minated by shore gunners. 



My personal acquaintance with this species was 

 first made at the mouth of the Dovey in Merioneth- 

 shire in August 1851. A small flock frequented the 

 sand bar at low water, and were at first stupidly 

 tame, but we soon discovered the excellence of these 

 birds for the table, and they equally soon discovered 

 our intentions and took very good care of themselves ; 

 the few that we killed were evidently young birds of 

 the year. With this exception I have seen but little 

 of the Knot on our own coasts, but in the first 

 fortnight of May 1872, after a very rainy winter and 

 early spring, we found countless myriads of this 



