of the Knot in our country are bare reaches of tidal 

 mud and sand ; and where these wastes are permeated 

 by runlets of fresh water, there, if anywhere, the Knots 

 will be found at low-water time. I think that, in the 

 whole of my bird-seeking experience, I never met with 

 any one species in such astonishing numbers as the 

 present in the lower marisma of the Guadalquivir during 

 the first fortnight of May 1872 ; any really approximate 

 reckoning was, of course, out of the question, but my 

 companions and I put the total mildly at several millions ; 

 with very few exceptions these masses of birds were in 

 the most perfect summer plumage. The Knot thrives 

 exceedingly well in captivity, often for three or four 

 years, and becomes very tame. 



The drawings for both Plates were taken from living 

 birds in the Lilford aviaries. 



