THE KNOT.] 



SHOOTING, 



[the bed shank. 



old males have equally their plain dress ; and 

 this circumstance may tend to give rise to the 

 contrary judgments on the matter. It does 

 not appear to be the opinion of fowlers that 

 the males take longer than one season to 

 arrive at maturity ; because the ruffs taken in 

 the spring, being without the long feathers, 

 which constitute the principal distinction 

 between them and the reeves, are compara- 

 tively few to those possessing the ruff; the 

 opinion, therefore, that these ruffless males are 

 birds of a very late brood of the preceding 

 season, is sufficiently reasonable. , 



The shooting of the ruff and reeve is prin- 

 cipally restricted to the fens of Lincolnsl)ire 

 and Cambridgeshire, and to the Isle of Ely, 

 and the East Eiding of Yorkshire. There are 

 likewise a few to be found in the fenny dis- 

 tricts in the neighbourhood of Bridgewater, in 

 Somersetshire; but these having been con- 

 siderably drained of late years, the birds are 

 now scarcer. In the marshy lands between 

 Boston and Spilsby, they may yet be met with 

 di considerable numbers. 



THE KNOT. 



This is the Tringa Canutus of Linnseus, and 

 has a claim upon our notice independent of its 

 being a fen-bird. This claim arises from the 

 derivation of its name. It seems that the 

 Danish king, Canute, was very partial to the 

 flesh of this bird — a circumstance that caused 

 it very often to be served up to him. It 

 therefore came to be known as the bird of 

 Canute, which was pronounced by his subjects 

 Tcnute, which, in the course of time, for brevity, 

 and greater facility in the pronunciation, was 

 corrupted to knot. It measures about nine 

 inches, and has a tail of a dusky brown colour, 

 of rather more than an inch long. The extent 

 of its wings is about fifteen inches ; and its 

 weight is about two ounces eight drachms. 

 The bill is one inch and three-eighths long, 

 black at the tip and dusky, fading into orange 

 towards the base. The tongue is nearly of 

 the same length, and is sharp and horny at 

 the point. The sides of the head, neck, and 

 breast are cinereous, edged with ash-coloured 

 grey : and the chin is white, with a stroke of 

 the same colour passing over each eye. All 

 the upper parts of the plumage are darkish 

 brown, but deeper and glossier on the ci'own 

 570 



of the head, back, and scapulars; and each 

 feather is edged with ash or grey. The under 

 parts are a cream-coloured white, streaked or 

 spotted with brown on the sides and vent. 

 The great coverts of the wings are tipped with 

 white, which form a bar across them when 

 extended. The legs are of a yellowish hue, 

 and do not measure more than two inches and 

 an eighth, from the middle of the toe to the 

 knee. The thighs are feathered nearly to the 

 knee ; and the toes are divided without any 

 connecting membrane. 



When the sportsman follows these birds 

 with the gun, they generally run very fast; 

 and it always requires considerable labour and 

 time before he can make them rise within a 

 fair range. Their flight is quick and unsteady. 

 When severe frost sets in, they betake them- 

 selves to the sea-shore, where they are more 

 readily brought down than upon the fenny 

 marshes. In Lincolnshire, they are, in large 

 numbers, decoyed into nets, by carved wooden 

 ligures painted to represent themselves, and 

 placed within the nets, much in the same man- 

 ner as the ruff is taken. The knot is likewise 

 fattened for sale, and esteemed by many equal to 

 the ruff in delicacy of flavour. The best season 

 for its capture is from August to November. 



THE RED SHANK. 



This bird is also called the Pool Snipe, and 

 is the Scolopax Calidris of Linnasus. It is a 

 favourite with many sportsmen, as it affords 

 them a good deal of amusement at certain 

 periods of the year. Its length is twelve 

 inches, its breadth twenty-one, and its weight 

 about five ounces and a-half. The bill, from 

 the tip to the corners of the mouth, is nearly 

 two inches long, blackish at the point, and red 

 towards the base. The feathers on the top of 

 the head are dark brown, edged with a pale 

 rufous hue. Over each eye there is a whitish 

 line, from the corners of which, dark brown 

 spots extend to the beak. The irides are hazel. 

 The back part of the neck is obscurely spotted 

 with dark brown, on a rusty ash-coloured 

 ground. The throat and fore part are more 

 distinctly marked, or streaked with spots of the 

 same colour. The breast and belly are white, 

 tinged with an ash colour ; the spots are thinly 

 distributed, and are shaped something like 

 the heads of arrows or darts. The general 



