SHORE BIRDS 127 



mon, with white on the belly. In the winter the plumage 



is more gray and the under parts are much hghter in color. 



This bird usually lays four eggs of a buffy-olive color, 



which are marked by brown, especially near the larger end. 



THE KNOT OR ROBIN SNIPE* 



The Knot or Robin Snipe is a bird of several names, as 

 it is also called the Red-breasted, Ash-colored Sandpiper, 

 the Gray-back, and the Gray Snipe. It is quite cosmo- 

 politan, breeding in the far North of both hemispheres, but 

 in winter migrating southward and wintering in the climate 

 of the southern United States and Central America. The 

 knot belongs to the snipe family, wliich includes one hun- 

 dred or more species, about forty-five of which are inhab- 

 itants of North America. Nearly all the species breed in 

 the higher latitudes of the northern hemisphere. These 

 birds frequent the shores of large bodies of water, and are 

 seldom observed far from their vicinity. Their bills are 

 long and are used in seeking food in the soft mud of the 

 shore. 



The knot visits the Great Lakes during its migration 

 and is frequently observed at that time. Its food, which 

 consists of the smaller crustaceans and shells, can be as 

 readily obtained on the shores of these lakes as on those of 

 the ocean, which it also follows. 



Dr. Ridgway tells us that "Adult specimens vary indi- 

 vidually in the relative extent of the black, gray, and red- 

 dish colors on the upper parts; gray usually predominates 

 in the spring, the black in mid-summer. Sometimes there is 



