NATURAL HISTORY OF THE KNOT. 



213 



is." This may be all very true, for there is no standard 

 of taste ; for our part, we think there is more virtue 

 in the thigh of a woodcock, and the bosom of a hen- 

 pheasant, than in a whole wilderness of peewits. 

 " Old peewits," says Colonel Hawker, a great authority 

 in feathered amphibia, " fly round a dog, in order to 

 mislead him." With a dog, therefore, one may be 

 able to kill several of these birds in the marshes, 

 which they frequent. The afternoon is the best 

 time, as peewits prefer the uplands during the morn- 

 ing. This is the plover whose eggs are so popular. 



The Knot (Tringa Canutus, Linn.). This is the 

 second bird in rank of the species Tringa, or Mari- 

 time Sandpipers ; the most beautiful and abundant 



