310 CHARADRITD 
inland. Like most other Arctic-bred ‘ waders,’ the immature 
birds, on their first arrival, are almost regardless of man’s 
presence. They are very gregarious, and a gathering of 
several hundreds on the slob-lands is a most interesting 
sight. Viewing them from a few yards I have noted how, 
at one time, they will all stand motionless, supporting them- 
selves each on one leg, with their heads so sunk between 
their shoulders as to give them the appearance of a number 
of scattered grey stones. I have observed the newly arrived 
and fatigued birds sleeping in the bright sunshine of the 
noon-day, their beaks buried in their soft and puffed-out 
feathers. Drawing closer I have so disturbed their slumbers 
that numbers have hopped away from me (each on one leg) 
preparatory to taking flight. Suddenly they rise, and 
winging their way, appear to go off, but not so; they circle 
round and return to the self-same spot, and having alighted 
commence to feed actively on the slimy ooze. It is “well- 
known that immature Knots, even when repeatedly shot at, 
will return to the ground from which they have been driven, 
a fact that the oreedy and heartless shozve-shooter only too 
readily avails himself of, when indulging in the wholesale 
slaughter of these innocent shore- birds. 
At high water they collect into great compact masses 
and rest on sand-banks or patches of grass, uncovered by 
the tide. Oyster-catchers, Ringed Plovers, and other 
‘waders’ frequently accompany them. From Dunlins, San- 
derlings, and other small grey shore-birds, they may be dis- 
tinguished by their larger size: the Redshank has much 
longer legs and feet. 
Flight.—The Knot exhibits great power and velocity on 
the wing. Its long, pointed pinions are admirably adapted 
for the immense distances covered on migration. ‘The 
‘swishing’ or ‘rushing’ sound of several hundred wings 
as the birds pass overhead is as audible at eighty yards 
distance as the hissing of steam escaping from a loco- 
motive. Beautiful aérial evolutions, comparable to those 
performed by the Dunln, may be witnessed, especially in 
the spring, when the birds are massing together preparatory 
to moving northward. 
Food. ae food, sought for by day as well as by night, 
consists largely of small shell- fish, especially gasteropods 
with pointed spiral shells ; these I have found in abundance 
in several stomachs examined. Some of the shells measured 
6 mm. in length. Worms, insects, and seaweeds, are also 
