244 THE GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL 



near Archangel, by Hencke ; Middendorff saw an odd bird or so on the Taimur 

 Peninsula in May, and at the mouth of the Uda, in the Sea of Okhotsk, in July ; 

 Schrenck obtained examples in autumn at the mouth of the Amoor, and it has 

 been obtained at that season near Lake Baikal, and on migration in the valleys 

 of the Obb and the Kama. It passes Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroes on 

 migration, and occurs on passage on the entire coast line of Western Europe, and 

 winters on the west coast of Africa as far south as the Ethiopian limits of the 

 Primogsean realm. It is rare in the Mediterranean during winter, but common 

 on spring and autumn passage. It is of accidental occurrence only in India, but 

 passes, although in comparatively small numbers, the west coast of the Pacific, 

 China, and Japan, on migration, and occurs probably only abnormally in Australia 

 and New Zealand. It does not appear to pass the Pacific coast of America, but 

 migrates commonly down the Atlantic coasts as well as along some of the internal 

 routes, and winters in the southern States, probably Mexico, and some of the 

 West Indies, and has been known to wander as far south as Brazil. 



Allied forms. — Tringa crassirostris, which possibly breeds in North- 

 eastern Siberia, although the precise locality still remains unknown, and passes 

 down the Ussuri valley, the coasts of China and Japan (where, however, it 

 has been observed in summer) on migration, and winters in the East Indian 

 Archipelago and North Australia. It has visited the Andaman Isles, and, more 

 remarkable still, the coast of Scinde, the latter in considerable numbers. It is 

 distinguished from the Common Knot by its white upper tail coverts and by its 

 black breast and flanks, and absence of all chestnut from the underparts in breed- 

 ing plumage. It is also a slightly larger bird (length of wing, 7 to 7^ inches, 

 instead of from 6f to 65^ inches). 



Habits. — Although great numbers of the Knots that visit our coasts in 

 autumn pass on in a few weeks to more southern haunts, a by no means small 

 proportion remain behind and winter on the various coasts of the British Islands. 

 The migrations of the Knot are very marked and regular. Small numbers, 

 principally young birds, begin to arrive in our Islands early in August, and from 

 that date onwards to the end of October a slowly increasing stream of birds 

 is almost constantly reaching the British coasts, attaining its highest tide in 

 September. As previously stated, many of these individuals do not remain long 

 with us, but spend their winter on the mud-flats of Western Africa. These begin 

 to pass north again in April and May, by the end of which latter month most 

 have quitted the British coasts and retired to the unknown breeding grounds in 

 the North Polar basin. The migrating Knots appear chiefly to follow the coast 

 line, although small numbers occasionally cross inland ; and in spring, as is the 

 case with the Bar-tailed Godwit, the flight across the North Sea is taken about 

 the neighbourhood of Spurn Point, probably following an ancient coast line, as 



