82 



6 



Dr. O. Finsch states (J. f. O. 1874, p. 157) that he has examined a specimen in winter plumage 

 from New Zealand; and Mr. Buller writes (B. of N. Zeal. p. 195) as follows: — "This cosmo- 

 politan species is occasionally obtained in New Zealand, but only in its winter plumage. There 

 are several specimens in the Canterbury and Otago Museums, all of them obtained on the east 

 coast. It has not been recorded on the North Island ; but there is no reason why it should not 

 occur there also. Captain Hutton is in error in stating that I shot one of these birds at 

 Wanganui, the specimen which I presented to the Colonial Museum having been received by 

 me from the South Island." 



On the American continent it is found commonly in the north, and straggles in winter as 

 far south as Surinam, whence there is a specimen in the Leyden Museum ; but it appears to be 

 rarer on the west than on the east coast. Mr. Dall states that it is rare at the mouth of the 

 Yukon river, in Alaska ; and one example was obtained at Sitka by Bischoff. On the east coast 

 it is common on the shores of the British possessions during passage, more especially so in 

 autumn in New Brunswick. Dr. Elliott Coues states, on the authority of Professor Snow, that 

 it is common in Kansas ; and it is also given by Mr. Wheaton as occurring in Ohio, and may 

 not be rare on the larger inland waters. It occurs along the whole Atlantic coast during passage 

 and in winter, and is plentiful. Dr. Coues records it from South Carolina ; but I did not meet 

 with it on the Texan coast, where it probably occurs ; for, according to Mr. Osbert Salvin (Ibis, 

 1874, p. 319), Prince Maximilian von Neuwied obtained an immature bird in Brazil. 



Except at its breeding-haunts, where the present species is scarcely known, the Knot is found 

 in flocks, frequenting the shores of the sea in larger and smaller flocks, like the Dunlin and other 

 species of Sandpipers. As a rule, it is not shy, and will allow itself to be approached tolerably 

 near, especially when engaged in search of food. It is usually seen close to the water, or on the 

 large mud flats left bare by the receding tide, where it finds an abundance of food. It feeds on 

 worms, aquatic insects, coleoptera, small crustaceans, and mollusca, and frequently follows the 

 receding waves, retreating with extreme agility as the water returns. Its flight is powerful and 

 swift ; and, like the Dunlin, a flock will perform various evolutions, flying out towards the sea, 

 wheeling round, and skimming along above the surface of the water. It is usually seen on our 

 coasts in winter dress, arriving early in September after the red plumage has been nearly all lost, 

 and leaving us again as it commences to don its richly-coloured summer livery ; but not unfre- 

 quently some remain later with us, and are then seen in full nuptial dress. It is somewhat 

 remarkable that large numbers are occasionally seen in Southern Spain in the month of May, 

 being then in full summer dress ; and Colonel Irby saw five, one of which he shot and gave to 

 me, at Santander as late as the 17th of June. When one considers the vast tract that has to be 

 traversed before these birds could reach their usual breeding-haunts, it would seem that some few 

 individuals may remain in more southern latitudes and not breed : or else they must migrate very 

 quickly ; for we not unfrequently find large numbers of the young birds on our coasts in July. 



It had long been generally known that the Knot bred in the extreme north ; and the fact 

 led to a supposition, expressed by several competent authorities, that a tract might exist, close to 

 the Pole, not yet reached by any expedition, where the climate was milder and where the water 

 was open and tolerably free from ice during a short season of the year, and that in this agreeable 

 retreat the Knot nested and brought up its young, unmolested by man, in security. The fallacy 



