178 BRITISH BIRDS. 



his feet. Although a diligent search was made and a liberal reward offered, 

 no eggs of the Knot were found. The nest was on the ground under a 

 large flat stone, which was resting on two others, and was composed of a 

 few leaves and bits of dry grass loosely put together. Two nests were 

 found several miles inland, in each case close to a stream. It is in the 

 highest degree improbable that the Knot lays more than four eggs ; but 

 Dr. Coppinger once met with a brood of five young ones. Capt. Lyons, 

 of the ' Hecla/ on Parry's second voyage, says that the Knot deposits its 

 four eggs on a tuft of dry grass ; and Richardson, on the authority of 

 Mr. Hutchins"*, describes the eggs as " of a dun colour, fully marked with 

 reddish spots." These are all the particulars known of the breeding-habits 

 of this interesting bird ; and its eggs still form the prize with which some 

 adventurous ornithologist will eventually be rewarded. 



It is not known that there is any difference in the colour of the sexes of 

 this species. The breeding-plumage of the adult Knot is very handsome, 

 nearly the whole of the underparts being rich chestnut, mixed with white 

 on the centre of the belly and under tail-coverts ; the axillaries, flanks, and 

 longest under tail-coverts are white, barred with dark brown, and the under 

 wing-coverts are white, mottled with dark brown. The rich chestnut 

 extends to the sides of the head and neck and over the eye, and is very 

 conspicuous on the crown, mantle, scapulars, and innermost secondaries, 

 but is almost obsolete on the rump and upper tail-coverts, where it is 

 replaced by white, all these feathers of the upper parts being more or less 

 streaked and barred with black. The tail is uniform grey; the wing- 

 coverts are brownish grey, with paler margins, as in winter, and with an 

 occasional feather here and there coloured like the back. The quills are 

 brown, with pale edges to the secondaries. Bill, legs, feet, and claws nearly 

 black ; irides hazel. After the autumn moult all trace of chestnut has dis- 

 appeared from the plumage, the upper parts are an almost uniform greyish 

 brown, paler on the margins of the wing-coverts, but the black bars are 

 retained on the rump and upper tail-coverts ; the underparts are pure white, 

 streaked with greyish brown on the neck and under tail-coverts, and barred 

 with the same colour on the breast, flanks, axillaries, and under wing- 

 coverts. Young in first plumage resemble adults in winter plumage in the 

 colour of the rump and upper tail-coverts, but differ from them in having 

 most of the feathers of the upper parts with a pale buff margin, which is 

 emphasized by a narrow submarginal dark brown band ; the underparts 

 scarcely differ from those of the adult in winter, except that they are suf- 

 fused with buff, which, as well as the buff on the upper parts, changes to 

 pure white in the course of the autumn. The legs and feet are dark olive. 



* Hwtehins was a surgeon, many years resident in Hudson's Bay, who communicated to 

 Pennant " his MS. observations in a large folio volume, in every page of which his extensive 

 knowledge appears" (Pennant, 'Arctic Zoology,' ed. 2, i. p. 233). 



