Vo J- x "| Mackay on the Knot. % I 



1893 J ^ 



ever change back to the gray and white plumage of the younger 

 birds after once attaining the adult full plumage of brick red on 

 the underparts. 



They are still found in greater or less numbers along the 

 Atlantic coast south of Chesapeake Bay. Near Charleston, 

 S. C, Mr. William Brewster noted about one hundred and 

 fifty Knots on May 6 and 8, 18S5, and saw a number of flocks 

 on May 13. They were flying by, or were alighted, on Sullivan 

 Island beach. On May 17, 1S83, he noted about one hundred of 

 these birds in the same locality. In the spring they pass Char- 

 lotte Harbor. Florida, so I am informed, in large numbers, coming 

 up the coast from the south (a flight on May 26, 1S90), at which 

 time they are very tame. They are also more or less numerous 

 near Morehead City, North Carolina (where they are known as 

 'Beach Robins'), from May 15 to 30, their flight being along the 

 beach, just over the surf, at early morning, coming from the east 

 in the neighborhood of Point Lookout, ten or twelve miles away, 

 where they prohably resorted to roost. This indicates that these 

 birds were living in that locality. As late as twelve years ago 

 I understand from very good authority that Knots were abundant 

 from May 20 to June 1 on the Magdalen islands. During spring 

 when they were on migration they used to be abundant on Lake 

 Ontario, but I am not in possession of any late data regarding 

 their movements at that point. 



To me the Knots are very handsome birds in the full adult 

 plumage; their red, Robin-like breasts and lower parts with their 

 reddish-and-black-spotted backs, make a soft blending of color 

 most pleasing to the eye. The plumage of the female, on the 

 back, is sometimes duller and with less red than in the male, often 

 without any red. It is from their resemblance to the American 

 Robin {Merula migratoria) that their local names of Robin 

 Snipe and Beach Robins (the latter on the North Carolina 

 coast) have been given them. The plumage of the young birds 

 (sometimes called 'Whitings' on Cape Cod, and which are 

 usually smaller'than the adults) is of a general slate gray for the 

 upper parts, and white underneath, with neck, breast, and sides 

 streaked with fine slate- colored lines. This is so unlike the 

 plumage of the old birds that they are often mistaken for a dif- 

 ferent species by those not familiar with them. 



I desire to call attention to the universal statement current in 



