KNOT— PURPLE SANDPIPER— BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER n 



twittering trill by way of a song, the little stint is distinguished by the shining 



white of its under-parts, the chestnut brown of the back, and its small size, the 



length being only about 6 inches. Teinminck's stint (T. temmincki), which does 



not extend so far east in its breeding-range as the last, and travels less far to the 



south on migration, differs by having the six outer tail-feathers white instead of 



grey, as well as by the darker colour of the legs, and its somewhat superior bodily 



size. The Siberian birds winter in India, while those nesting in Europe seem to 



bear to the west, and are much more frequent in spring and autumn in Britain. 



France, Switzerland, and Spain than elsewhere. M any have also been found 



wintering in Senegambia. 



The knot (T. canutus) also migrates through the west of Europe, 

 Knot. . . .... r 



its main route to Africa taking it through Sweden, Denmark, 



Scotland, England, France, and Holland, the numbers passing through Germany 

 being comparatively few. When migrating across Asia it visits southern Siberia, 

 Lake Baikal, and China, and journeys as far south as New Zealand. As a breed- 

 ing bird it inhabits the Arctic countries of Europe, Asia, and America, and seems 

 to nest more frequently near inland waters than by the sea-shore. Running with 

 short, quick steps, it holds the wings straight up when crossing soft mud or 

 stepping over watery places. The flight is fast and straight with strong, although 

 not frequent, movements of the widely expanded wings. The knot, which feeds 

 on the smaller animals of the shore, such as insects and their larvae, is the largest 

 of its kind, being almost as large as the golden plover. In summer the plumage 

 is chestnut-brown spotted with blackish on the upper part of the bod}" ; but in 

 winter the colour is ashy grey above, with dark bars on the lower part of tin- 

 back and the white upper tail-coverts. The throat and under-parts are white, and 

 the feet and beak black. 



Purple Frequenting steep and rugged shores, where the sea washes 



sandpiper, the wildest rocks and sprinkles them with its spray, the purple 

 sandpiper (T. maritima) in May repairs inland to nest on some elevated plateau 

 or in some moorland valley, where it is often found in numbers. When surprised, 

 the young birds hide away, while the old ones, uttering the most pitiful cries, 

 scud about with ruffled feathers, drooping wings, and body almost touching the 

 ground. At other times the purple sandpiper is less mindful of its safety. It 

 walks gracefully, swims well, and has a strong undulating flight, while in 

 character it is sociable and peaceable. In diet it differs in some ways from its 

 relatives, since it subsists principally on small shell-fish. The breeding-area, 

 which is circumpolar, extends to a higher latitude than that of any other sand- 

 piper, embracing the shores of Hudson Bay, Labrador, Greenland, Iceland, 

 Spitzbergen, Novaia Zemlia, northern Lapland, and northern Siberia, and seeming 

 to include the Fame Islands in its southern boundary. In winter this bird 

 migrates to the Mediterranean, and the Azores on one side of the Atlantic, and 

 the Bermudas on the other. About 8 inches long, the species is distinguished- by 

 the blackish upper tail-coverts, the white bar on the wings, and the yellow feet. 

 Broad-Billed The broad-billed sandpiper (Trivga platyrhyncha), which is 



sandpiper. f 0U nd in muddy shallow places in stagnant water, where grass does 

 not grow too abundantly, and where cattle drink and leave innumerable foot- 



