178 THE NORTHUMBERLAND COAST IN SEPTEMBER 



brown, and white markings on their upper breasts make them 

 attractive and beautiful birds to watch. As yet the brown 

 markings were still quite visible, but later in the season they 

 die away to a greyish colour. It is amusing to observe a 

 flock of Turnstones when searching for food upon the beach. 

 They carefully turn over stones, shells, and bits of seaweed in 

 the hope of discovering small crustaceans beneath them. If 

 the piece of seaweed is large they will rear it up with their 

 beaks and then push it over with their breasts in a most 

 workmanlike fashion. 



We here got a closer view of a number of Knots, which, 

 when on the rocks, appeared to be much less timid than those 

 we had seen on the mud flats. Very pretty soft grey and 

 white birds they are, some of them with a tinge of buff still on 

 their plumage. Later on we picked up a dead specimen on 

 the sands, and had a careful examination of the details of its 

 form and plumage. Its length from tip of bill to tail was 

 9^ inches. Its bill was straight, black, i|- inches in length. 

 Legs and feet dull olive-green ; toes four in number, three in 

 front united at the base only, one behind very short. Head 

 and neck ash-grey with a buffish tinge. Feathers of mantle 

 smoky-grey, with darker edges and whitish tips. Chin and 

 breast white, flecked with grey and just tinged with bufl". 

 Belly white. Feathers of rump white, with blackish transverse 

 markings. Tail grey-black, without bars. Primaries grey- 

 black. Axillaries white with greyish-black bars. 



A few Dunlins were running about near a rock pool. Most 

 of them had still the patch of black on the lower breast, but 

 in some cases this had almost disappeared except for a few 

 scattered black dots. Their plumage was just undergoing the 

 change which takes place between summer and winter. 



Following the shore we passed over the well-known Stag 

 Rocks, which are interesting to the geologist as showing the 

 junction of the limestone and the basalt. Their fantastic 

 shape is the result of the difference of the weathering of 

 the two strata. 



