480 SANDPIPERS AND RELATED SPECIES 



appearance was that of an immense dark undulating line of smoke 

 from the funnel of a steamboat." l 



Among the babel of indistinguishable cries of the flocks of 



Waders which pass over East Anglia in late summer, one can 



generally detect the hoarse cry of the knot. In most years these 



migrating flocks are heard passing over Cambridge on one or more 



August nights. The earliest date on which I have heard them was 



August 18, 1911, and the latest was September 2, 1910. The largest 



flight was on August 26, I believe in 1906, but am not sure of 



the year. On this night they were reported at Norwich, Ipswich, 



and other towns. At Cambridge the first whistling was heard 



about 9.30, and I fell asleep listening to them long after midnight. 



No doubt they are attracted by the lights of the town, and may linger 



around, giving an impression of larger numbers than there really are. 



But judging by the cries, they appear to be passing steadily over and 



generally in a line from the north-east. At times they appear to be 



but a little way above the housetops. For a few minutes only odd 



notes are heard, as though the ranks are thin and scattered ; then 



gradually the music swells and for a time becomes a veritable babel 



of melodious cries, and one strains one's eyes, peering up into the 



darkness, hoping to catch a glint of reflected light on even but one 



white underside, but in vain. No doubt they are much higher than 



is indicated by their cries, which carry far in the night. I have 



thought that I have detected the notes of turnstone, sanderling, 



golden and grey-plovers, but certainly the hoarse grunting call of the 



knot. 



This grunting note of the knot, which may be heard in autumn 

 and winter, has been syllabled by Professor Patten as " knut" or 

 "knot." 2 Hence, no doubt, the name. 



1 Zoologist, 18(56, p. 75. ' Aquatic Birds, p. 310. 



