of //owarth H m '-I * The number of birds in New Jersey, which either re- main here all the year or whose visits are more or less prolonged during certain seasons, is very large and a com- prehensive treatise on all of them would make a ponder- ous volume. The endeavor of the author in the present work has been to deal with them in accordance with their importance; the transient visitor who merely straggles in- to the state from adjoining territory or who remains only long enough to secure rest and food to supply strength for further travel, has not been considered worthy of the attention to be devoted to him who remains with us at all seasons or whose sojourn is long enough to awaken in us either an interest in his habits or a desire for his return. Few facts hitherto unpublished will be found in this volume. The study of American Ornithology dates back to almost the date of the discovery of this continent and ever since that time have admirers of nature studied the habits of our birds. The foundation was laid by Alexander Wilson and he has been followed by hundreds, each of whom has contributed his quota, either large or small, un- til the structure of American Ornithology was brought to its present state of almost completion. The work of Wil- son has been used as the foundation for the present treat- ise, supplemented by the works of Witmer Stone, Frank M. Chapman, D. Gr. Elliot and others. The main facts in relation to the breeding location and range have been taken from Mr. Witmer Stone's "Birds of Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey." The author is also indebted to Mr. Stone for a painstaking revision of this work before it went to press. The Delaware Valley Ornithological Club is an organiz- ation the members of which have devoted a great deal of time and study to the birds of New Jersey as well as of Pennsylvania. This club meets in the building of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and the THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 7 members are ever ready to assist the seeker after knowl- edge by identifying specimens or replying to queries. Letters may be addressed to Mr. Witmer Stone, care of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. Paterson, N. J., December 1, 1896. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. BIRD DAY IN THE SCHOOLS. The following is a copy of a circular issued in July last by the Division of Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture: The observance of Arbor Day by the schools has been so successful that it has been suggested that a Bird Day, to be devoted to instructing the children in the value of our native birds and the best means of protecting them, might with propriety be added to the school calendar. The idea of setting apart one day in the year for the planting of trees was first suggested nearly twenty-five years ago by the Hon. J. Sterling Morton, now Secretary of Agricul- ture. More than a million trees were planted on the first Arbor Day, and the importance of the day has gradually increased until it has come to be observed in nearly every State and Territory in the Union. One of the greatest benefits of Arbor Day is the sentiment and interest aroused in the subject of trees and in the broader study of nature. It is believed that the observance of a Bird Day would appeal to our people particularly our youth even more strongly. HISTORY OF BIRD DAY. Bird Day is more than a suggestion. It has been already adopted in at least two cities with marked success, but as yet it is still an experiment. Apparently the idea origi- nated with Prof. C. A, Babcock, superintendent of schools in Oil City, Pa. , who wrote to the department of Agricul- ture in 1894 urging the establishment of such a day, and stating that May 4 would be observed as Bird Day in Oil City. In reply, the Secretary of Agriculture sent the fol- lowing letter: THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 9 WASHINGTON, D. C., April 23, 1894. MR. C. A. BABCOCK, Superintendent of Schools, Oil City, Pa. DEAR SIR: Your proposition to establish a "Bird Day" on the same general plan as "Arbor Day" has my cordial approval. Such a movement can hardly fail to promote the de- velopment of a healthy public sentiment toward our na- tive birds, favoring their preservation and increase. If directed toward this end, and not to the encouragement of the importation of foreign species, it is sure to meet the approval of the American people. It is a melancholy fact that among the enemies of our birds two of the most destructive and relentless are our women and our boys. The love of feather ornamentation so heartlessly persisted in by thousands of women, and the mania for collecting eggs and killing birds so deeply rooted in our boys, are legacies of barbarism inherited from our savage ancestry. The number of beautiful and useful birds annually slaughtered for bonnet trimmings runs up into the hundreds of thousands and threatens, if it has not already accomplished, the extermination of some of the rarer species. The insidious egg-hunting and pea-shooting proclivities of the small boy are hardly less widespread and destructive. It matters little which of the two agencies is the more fatal since neither is productive of any good. One looks to the gratification of a shallow vanity, the other to the gratification of a cruel instinct and an expenditure of boyish energy that might be prof- itably diverted into other channels. The evil is one against which legislation can be only palliative and of local efficiency. Public sentiment, on the other hand, if properly fostered in the schools, would gain force with the growth and development of our boys and girls and would become a hundredfold more potent than any law enacted by the State or Congress. I believe such a senti- ment can be developed, so strong and so universal, that a respectable woman will be ashamed to be seen with the wing of a wild bird on her bonnet, and an honest boy will be ashamed to own that he ever robbed a nest or wantonly took the life of a bird. Birds are of inestimable value to mankind. With- out their unremitting services our gardens and fields would 10 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. be laid waste by insect pests. But we owe them a great- er debt even than this, for the study of birds tends to de- velop some of the best attributes and impulses of our natures. Among them we find examples of generosity, unselfish devotion of the love of mother for offspring and other estimable qualities. Their industry, patience, and ingenuity excite our admiration ; their songs inspire us with a love of music and poetry ; their beautiful plumages and graceful manners appeal to our esthetic sense; their long migrations to distant lands stimulate our imagina- tions and tempt us to inquire into the causes of these periodic movements, and finally, the endless modifications of form and habits by which they are enabled to live under most diverse conditions of food and climate on land and at sea invite the student of nature into inex- haustible fields of pleasurable research. The cause of bird protection is one that appeals to the best side of our natures. Let us yield to the appeal. Let us have a Bird Day a day set apart from all the other days of the year to tell the children about the birds. But we must not stop here. We should strive continu- ally to develop and intensify the sentiment of bird protec- tion, not alone for the sake of preserving the birds, but also for the sake of replacing as far as possible the barbaric im- pulses inherent in child nature by the nobler impulses and aspirations that should characterize advanced civilization. Kespectfully, J. STERLING MORTON, Secretary of Agriculture. Of the success of this first experiment there can be no question. "The day was observed in the Oil City schools with a degree of enthusiasm which was good to see. The amount of information about birds that was collected by the children was simply amazing. Original composi- tions were read, informal discussions were held, talks by teachers were given, and the birds in literature were not forgotten or overlooked. * The idea simply needs to be known to meet with a warm welcome akin to that with which we greet our first robin or song sparrow in the spring." (Journal of Education, May 24, 1894.) Bird Day was observed in 1895 and again on May 8, 1896, with such success that it bids fair to become a regular THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 11 feature of the schools in Oil City at least. In speaking of the third anniversary, Superintendent Babcock says: The exercises this year (1896), as upon previous ones, varied somewhat in the different grades. They consisted of original compositions by the pupils, containing the re- sults of their observations of birds, of talks by pupils and teachers, comparing observation, giving localities of bird haunts, and general exchange of bird lore; of recitations from eminent prose writers on birds, and from the poets; finally many of our schools closed their exercises by a trip to the woods to listen to the vesper concert of our feathered brothers. * * * We begin the study of birds on Jan- uary 1 and continue till June, studying those that stay all winter 'and trying to keep account of the new comers as they arrive. We devote two periods of twenty minutes each per week to this study. Bird Day is a summary or focusing of the work of the year. * * * The results of bird study and of Bird Day are interesting. Our children generally know most of our bird residents, they also love them, and feel like protecting them. There has been a complete change in relations existing between the small boy and the birds. Other suggestions regarding the study of birds and the observance of the day will be found in two interesting articles on Bird Day, one by Superintendent Babcock, in the Journal of Education for April 4, 1895; the other by A. E. Winship, in the Outlook for April 6, 1895, p. 560. Last spring (1896) the movement was started in Iowa by Prof. C. H. Morrill, superintendent of schools at Fort Madison, who was apparently unaware of the experiment in Pennsylvania. He set apart May 29, 1896, as Bird Day in the schools under his jurisdiction, and describes the results as follows: I never saw children more enthusiastic in preparation or happier in rendering. They brought their pet birds, they decorated the rooms with flowers and green branches, they ornamented the boards with drawings of birds, birds' nests, flowers, etc. * * * The buildings rang with bird music all day, the children were happier than ever before and visitors came until standing space in 12 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. many rooms was at a premium. * It is safe to say that we shall celebrate the day next year. I hope it may come to be a national day. The Department has also received inquiries concerning Bird day from Connecticut, and the matter is attracting attention in Nebraska. Professor Lawrence Bruner in his u Notes on the Birds of Nebraska," published in May, 1896, says: It might be well to suggest that the subject (of Orni thology) is of sufficient importance to call for its being taught in our public schools, to a limited extent at least. We should have a " Bird Day " just as we have an "Arbor Day" and a " Flag Day," when suitable exercises, should be held commemorative of the occasion. OBJECT OF BIRD DAY. From all sides come reports of a decrease in native birds due to the clearing of the forests, draining of the swamps and cultivation of land, but especially to the in- creasing slaughter of the birds for game, the demand for feathers to supply the millinery trade, and the breaking up of nests to gratify the egg collecting proclivities of small boys. An attempt has been made to restrict these latter causes by legislation. Nearly every State and Ter- ritory has passed game laws, and several States have statutes protecting insectivorous birds. Such laws are frequently changed and cannot be expected to accomplish much unless supported by popular sentiment in favor of bird protection. This object can only be attained by demonstrating to the people the value of birds, and how can it be accomplished better than through the medium of the schools ? Briefly stated, the object of Bird Day is to diffuse knowledge concerning our native birds and to arouse a more general interest in bird protection. As such it should appeal not only to ornithologists, sportsmen and farmers, who have a practical interest in the preservation THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 13 of birds, but also to the general public, who would soon appreciate the loss if the common songsters were exter- minated. It is time to give more intelligent attention to the birds and appreciate their value. Many schools already have courses in natural history or nature study and such a day would add zest to the regular studies, encourage the pupils to observe carefully, and give them something to to look forward to and work for. In the words of the or- iginator of the day, "the general observance of a Bird Day in our schools would probably do more to open thou- sands of young minds to the reception of bird lore than anything else that can be devised." The first thing is to interest the scholars in birds in general and particularly in those of their own locality. Good lists of birds have been prepared for several of the States, and popular books and articles on ornithology are within the reach of every one. But the instruction should not be limited to books; the children should be encouraged to observe the birds in the field, to study their habits and migrations, their nests and food, and should be taught to respect the laws pro- tecting game and song birds. VALUE OF BIRD DAY. When the question of introducing Arbor Day into the schools was brought before the National Educational As- sociation in February, 1884, the objection was made that the subject was out of place in the schools. The value of the innovation could not be appreciated by those who did not see the practical bearing of the subject on an ordinary school course. But at the next meeting of the Associa- tion the question was again brought up and unanimously adopted to the mutual benefit of the school and of prac- tical forestry. With the advent of more progressive ideas concerning education there is a demand for instruction in subjects which a few years ago would have been con- 14: THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. sidered out of place, or of no special value. If the main object of our educational system is to prepare boys and girls for the intelligent performance of the duties and la- bors of life, why should not some attention be given to the study of nature, particularly in rural schools where the farmers of the next generation are now being edu- cated ? The study of birds may be taken up in several ways and for different purposes; it may be made to furnish simply a course in mental training or to assist the pupil in acquiring habits of accurate observation; it may be taken up alone or combined with composition, drawing, geography or literature. But it has also an economic side which may appeal to those who demand purely prac- tical studies in schools. Economic ornithology has been defined as "the study of birds from a standpoint of dol- lars and cents." It treats of the direct relations of birds to man, showing which species are beneficial and which injurious, teaching the agriculturist how to protect his feathered friends and guard against the attacks of his foes. This is a subject in which we are only just beginning to acquire exact knowledge, but it is none the less deserving of a place in our educational system on this account. Its practical value is recognized both by individual States and by the national government, which appropriate consider- able sums of money for investigations of value to agricul- ture. Much good work has been done by some of the ex- periment stations and State boards of agriculture, partic- ularly in Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Neb- raska and Pennsylvania. In the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, the division of Biological Survey (formerly the Division of Ornithology) devotes much at- tention to the collection of data respecting the geographic distribution, migration, and food of birds and to the publication and diffusion of information concerning species which are beneficial or injurious to agriculture. Some of the results of these investigation are of general THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 15 interest, and could be used in courses of instruction in even the lower schools. Such facts would thus reach a larger number of persons than is now possible, and would be made more generally available to those interested in them. If illustrations of the practical value of a knowl- edge of zoology are necessary they can easily be given. It has been estimated recently that the forests and streams of Maine are worth more than its agricultural re- sources. If this is so, is it not equally as important to teach the best means of preserving the timber, the game and the fish, as it is to teach students how to develop the agricultural wealth of the state ? In 1885 Pennsylvania passed its famous " scalp act," and in less that two years expended between $75,000 and $100,000 in an attempt to rid the State of animals and birds supposed to be injuri- ous. A large part of the money was spent for killing hawks and owls most of which belonged to species which were afterwards shown to be actually beneficial. Not only was money thrown away in a useless war against noxious animals, but the State actually paid for the de- struction of birds of inestimable value to its farmers. During the last five or six years two States have been en- gaged in an unsuccessful attempt to exterminate English sparrows by paying bounties for their heads. Michigan and Illinois have each spent more that $50,000, but, al- though millions of sparrow shave been killed, the decrease in numbers is hardly perceptible. A more general knowl- edge of the habits of the English sparrow at the time the bird was first introduced into the United States would not only have saved this outlay of over $100,000, but would also have saved many other States from loss due to depre- dations by sparrows. Is it not worth while to do something to protect the birds and prevent their destruction before it is too late ? A powerful influence for good can be exerted by the schools if the teachers will only interest themselves in the 16 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. movement, and the benefit that will result to the pupils could hardly be attained in any other way at so small an expenditure of time. If it is deemed unwise to establish another holiday, or it may seem too much to devote one day in the year to the study of birds, the exercises of Bird Day might be combined with those of Arbor Day. It is believed that Bird Day can be adopted with profit by schools of all grades, and the subject is recommended to the thoughtful attention of teachers and school super- intendents throughout the country, in the hope that they will co-operate with other agencies now at work to pre- vent the destruction of our native birds. T. S. PALMER, Approved: Acting Chief of Division. CHAS. W. DABNEY, Jr. WASHINGTON, D C., July 2, 1890. ILLUSTRATIONS. The illustrations in this publication were made from specimens mounted for that purpose by Mr. Andrew Booth, of Paterson, with the exception of those represent- ing Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cuckoo, Chip- ping Sparrow and Song Sparrow, Chewink, Wood Thrush, Catbird, Meadowlark, Barn Swallows, Kingbird, Cardinal Bird, Screech Owl, Barred Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, Wood- peckers and Kingfishers, which were made from speci- mens in the American Museum of Natural History in New York city. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 17 MIGRATION OF BIRDS. [From Mr. Witmer Stone's "Birds of Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey."] The spring migration in the vicinity of Philadelphia begins early in February with the arrival from farther south of scattered bunches of Robins, Bluebirds, Purple Grackles, and a few other species which often occur in small numbers during the winter. About the middle of the month, on the first clear, spring-like day when the temperature rises to 60 or TO degrees F., a well marked wave takes place. Purple Grackles, Red- winged Blackbirds, Robins, Bluebirds and a few Flickers are the principal species, the Grackles being the most numerous. The greater part of these early migrants seem to pass farther north. From the time of occurrence of the first well marked wave, the species above mentioned continue to pass in increasing numbers during favorable weather, but there is usually no other decided wave until about the middle of March. During this month, in addition to the species already mentioned, the principal migrants are the Meadowlark, Pewee, Field Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Cowbird, Dove, Canada Goose and Killdeer Plover, together with a few Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Savanna Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows, Myrtle Warblers and Rusty Grackles. None of these birds, however, arrive at least in abundance before the middle of the month. Up to April 1 no migrants have been recorded in the records that we have examined which do not occur occa- sionally in winter, either at Philadelphia or a little far- ther south in New Jersey, except the Canada Goose and Chipping Sparrow, which latter species has been once or twice noticed during the last week of March. 18 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. After the first of April, however, the strictly summer species and transients begin to arrive. There are general- ly several well marked waves during the month, their most characteristic species being the Hermit Thrush, Euby-crowned Kinglet, Chipping Sparrow, Chimney Swift, Barn Swallow, Bank Swallow, Myrtle Warbler, House Wren, Thrasher, Che wink, Black arid White Warb- ler, Maryland Yellow-throat and Solitary Yireo. A number of other species sometimes arrive during the lasrweek in April, when there often occurs a wave which seems to be a forerunner of the great "Thrush and Warbler waves" of May, which brings the first stragglers of many species which are really characteristic of the latter month. The following list includes such species as have been noted generally in smaller numbers from April 20 to 30 in the vicinity of Philadelphia, but which do not arrive in force until May: Kingbird, Black-throated Green Warbler, Crested Flycatcher, Parula Warbler, Orchard Oriole, Water Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Catbird, Eed-eyed Vireo, Wilson's Thrush, Yellow Warbler, Wood Thrush. About the first of May the species just mentioned, to- gether with many Warblers, etc., arrive in abundance and form the first great "Warbler wave." Thousands of Thrushes, Warblers and Vireos pass through at this time and the woods seem fairly alive with birds. Several other waves occur during May, which are mainly characterized by Warblers, and, indeed, for the first three weeks of the month these birds seem to be passing almost continuous- ly. By the 20th of the month, however, the migration begins to wane, and although stragglers of many species are seen until the 30th, and some Blackpoll Warblers linger as late as June 6, there are rarely any migratory waves after May 20. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 19 As regards the departure of the winter birds, the records of the club show that the Herring Gulls leave the Delaware river about April 4, and they seem to desert the meadows at Atlantic City, N. J., about the same time Winter Wrens, Fox Sparrows and the bulk of the Snowbirds generally leave Philadelphia by April 15, while the Brown Creepers and Golden-crowned Kinglets stay a few days later. Most of the White- throated Sparrows have departed by May 1, but a few occur regularly as late as the 16th of the month, and one was seen in 1888 on May 27. The straggling Snowbirds have usually left by May 1, but occasionally one is seen a few days later, May 10 being the latest date recorded. The first evidence of the fall migration in the vicinity of Philadelphia is seen during the last week in July, or, perhaps, earlier, when the old birds of several species leave their breeding grounds and apparently pass slowly southward. By the middle of August most of the Swal- lows, Kingbirds and Orioles have disappeared from the interior, and begin to congregate along the river valleys, coast lines and other avenues of migration, whence they pass southward gradually, as they are joined by flocks from farther north. Immense congregations of Kingbirds and several species of Swallows are familiar sights at this time along the New Jersey coast. Grackles, Red -winged Blackbirds, Robins and Bluebirds collect in flocks by August 1, or earlier, but they do not apparently journey southward till later in the season. The pioneer migrants from the north reach Philadelphia during the first week of August, the Water Thrush and Redstart being the earliest to arrive. During the latter part of the month August 20-31 many other species arrive ; such as the Canadian, Black-throated Blue, Chest- nut-sided, Bay -breasted, Blackburnian, Magnolia and Wilson's Warblers, and the Wilson's Thrush. None of 20 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. these birds, however, are abundant at this time, and seem to pass through quickly. The majority of these August warblers that have been collected seem to be old birds, while the large majority of those which pass through later are, as is generally known, birds of the year. The bulk of the Warblers, Vireos, Tanagers and the Thrushes, which characterize the May migration in the spring, pass through in the fall from September 10 to October 1, and by the end of the first week of the latter month nearly all the stragglers have disappeared. The October birds correspond in general to those of the April migration, occurring of course in inverse or- der, and by November 1 only a few Hermit Thrushes, Fox Sparrows, Field Sparrows and Myrtle Warblers are left of the migrating birds, while all the winter visitants have arrived in force. The Snowbirds begin to arrive as early as September 27, though they are not common before the middle of Octo- ber. The first White-throated Sparrows are seen about September 20, while on the coast the Herring Gulls arrive at Atlantic City about October 1. Such is a brief outline of the spring and fall migrations in the vicinity of Philadelphia. Birds may be arranged in two groups, according to their manner of migration, viz., day migrants and night migrants. The former include the Doves, Hawks, Hum- mingbirds, Chimney Swift, Nighthawk, Horned Lark, Crows, Jays, Grackles, Blackbirds, Swallows, Cedarbird, Titlark, Bluebird and Eobin, and perhaps a few others. The night migrants include the Woodpeckers, Cuckoos, Flycatchers (except the Kingbird), Meadowlark, Orioles, most of the Finches, the Vireos, Tanagers, Warblers, Wrens, Creepers, Nuthatches, Titmice and most of the Thrushes. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 21 Among the water birds the Bittern, Woodcock, Wil- son's Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper and the Eails migrate ex- clusively by night, while other species seem to move by day or night, according to circumstances, most diving birds migrating along the coasts by day but making their overland journeys by night. From an examination of the foregoing lists it will be seen that the more timid, shelter-loving birds migrate at night, and the bolder species, which are strong of flight or which associate in flocks, migrate by day. The reasons for this can easily be seen in the following quotation from Mr. Brewster's paper on Bird Migration: u Timid, seden- tary, or feeble-winged birds migrate by night because they are either afraid to venture on long, exposed journeys by daylight, or unable to continue these journeys day after day without losing much time in stopping to search for food. By taking the nights for travelling they can de- vote the days entirely to feeding and resting in their favorite haunts. Good examples are Thrushes (except the Eobin), Wrens, Warblers and Vireos. Bold, restless, strong- winged birds migrate chiefly, or very freely, by day, because, being accustomed to seek their food in open situations, they are indifferent to concealment, and being further able to accomplish long distances rapidly and with slight fatigue, they can ordinarily spare sufficient time by the way for brief stops in places where food is abundant and easily obtained. Excellent examples are the Robin, Horned Lark and most Icteridae. Birds of easy, tireless wing, which habitually feed in the air or over very extensive areas, migrate exclusively by day, because being able either to obtain their usual supply of food as they fly or to accomplish the longest journeys so rapidly that they do not require to feed on the way, they are under no necessity of changing their usual habits. The best examples are Swallows, Swifts and Hawks. Nocturnal and crepuscular birds, at least migratory species, are all strong-winged and accustomed to seek 22 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. their food over wide areas. Hence, like Swallows, Swifts and Hawks, they migrate during the hours of their habit- ual activity." Day migrants perform their journeys either as scatter- ed individuals, or in compact flocks, there being compar- atively little mixture of species. As regards night mi- grants, however, the case is different. All the species which are migrating on any particular night, being attracted by each others' notes, become more or less mingled together in an immense column, not forming a compact flock, but composed of individuals and small bunches flying sufficiently near to one another to be guid- ed by the chirping of those just ahead. Observations made from lighthouses seem clearly to show this to be the nature of the night migrations, and it is really most nat- ural, being merely a continuation of the actions of these same birds while feeding in the woodland during the day, when they go shifting from tree to tree, the various species intermingled and all slowly following the lead of those just ahead of them. The leaders of these migra- tory flights are probably old birds which have had the experience of previous migrations and have thoroughly learned the route of travel. The experience of most of the leading ornithologists of this country, however, seems to show that the old birds of most if not all species mi- grate southward before their young, leaving the nesting- ground soon after the moult is completed and entrusting their young to the guidance of later migrants, often be- longing to quite different species. Migrating birds seem to follow the same course year after year, so that it is possible to map out pretty exactly their principal lines of flight. These lines of flight fol- low the courses of rivers, valleys, mountain chains, or coast lines, which to the eyes of the migrants, flying high in the air, are distinctly outlined for many miles, pro- vided the night be clear, and thus form easily recogniz- able landmarks. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 23 FOOD FOR BIRDS. The injury that birds do to crops and fruit is trivial compared to the vast benefits derived from their almost continual warfare against insects and larvae, but even this injury may be obviated in a great measure. As a rule birds prefer wild fruit and seeds to cultivated fruit and grain, and consequently those who desire to derive the greatest benefit from birds will do well to plant some wild fruit which will bear during the weeks the birds usually feed on the garden or orchard crops. In this con- nection Mr. Forbush says: ' 'I wish particularly to note the fact that the mulberry trees, which ripen their berries in June, proved to be a protection to cultivated cherries, as the fruit-eating birds seem to prefer them to the cultivated cherries, per- haps because they ripen somewhat earlier," and he adds, "I believe it would be wise for the farmer to plant rows of these trees near his orchard, and it is possible that the early Juneberry or shadberry might also be useful in this respect." Prof. Beal suggests planting berry bushes along the roads and fences and between grain fields. To protect strawberries and cherries (May and June), plant Russian mulberry and Juneberry or shadberry. To protect raspberries and blackberries (July and Au- gust) plant mulberry, buckthorn, elder and choke cherry. To protect apples, peaches, grapes (September and Oc- tober), plant choke cherries, elder, wild black cherry and Virginia creeper. To protect winter fruits, plant Virginia creeper, dog- wood, mountain ash, bittersweet, virburnum, hackberry, bayberry and pokeberry. 24: THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. Birds that eat mulberries are the Flycatchers, Warblers, Vireos, Cuckoos, Blackbirds, Orioles, Finches, Sparrows, Tanagers, Waxwings, Catbirds, Bluebirds and Thrushes. Birds that eat the potato beetle are the Eose-breasted Grosbeak, Cuckoo and Quail. Birds that eat the tent caterpillar (which does most harm to the apple and cherry trees) are the Crows, Chickadee, Oriole, Ked-eyed Vireo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black- billed Cuckoo, Chipping Sparrow and Yellow Warbler. Birds that eat the cut worm (which eats off corn, etc., before it is fairly started in the spring, and is very de- structive to grass) are the Eobin, Crow, Catbird, Logger- head Shrike, House Wren, Meadowlark, Cowbird, Balti- more Oriole, Brown Thrasher arid Eed- winged Blackbird. Ants (which spread plant-lice, destroy timber and in- fest houses) are the favorite food of the Catbird, Thrash- er, House Wren and Woodpeckers; are eaten by almost all land birds except birds of prey. Scale insects (which are a fruit tree pest, injure oranges, olives, etc. ) are eaten by the Bush Tit, Woodpeckers and Cedarbird. The May beetle (which ravages forest trees, also injures grain and grass lands) is eaten by the Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush, Eobin, Meadowlark, Brown Thrasher, Bluebird, Catbird, Bluejay, Crow Blackbird, Crow, Logger- head Shrike, Mockingbird and Gray- cheeked Thrush. Weevils (which injure grain, forage and market gar- dens) are eaten by the Crow Blackbird, Eed- winged Black- bird, Baltimore Oriole, Catbird, Brown Thrasher, House Wren, Meadowlark, Cowbird, Bluebird, Eobin, Swallows, Flycatchers, Mockingbird, Wookpeckers, Wood Thrush, and Scarlet Tanager. The cinch bug (which eats grain and wheat) is eaten by the Brown Thrasher, Meadowlark, Catbird, Eed-eyed Vireo, Eobin and Bob White. The wire worm (which causes heavy losses in the corn- field) is eaten by the Eed-wiuged Blackbird, Crow Black- THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 25 bird, Crow, Woodpeckers, Brown Thrasher, Scarlet Tana- ger, Robin, Catbird, Baltimore Oriole, Meadow Lark and Cowbird. Crane flies (which eat grass roots in the hay fields) are eaten by the Robin, Catbird, Wood Thrush, Gray-Cheeked Thrush, Olive-backed Thrush, Crow, Crow Blackbird and Red-winged Blackbird. The soldier bug is eaten by the Robin, Bluebird, Crow Blackbird, Crow, Catbird, House Wren, Red-winged Black- bird, Baltimore Oriole and Meadowlark. Birds that eat the cotton worm are the Bluebird, Blue- jay, Red-winged Blackbird, Thrush, Quail, Killdeer, Bobo- link, Mockingbird, Cardinal and Cuckoo. Gypsy Moth Mr. Forbush, ornithologist of the Massa- chusetts State Board of Agriculture, gives the following list of birds seen to feed on the gypsy moth: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed Cuckoo, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pigeon Woodpecker, Kingbird, Great Crested Flycatcher, Phcebe, Wood Pewee, Least Fly- catcher, Blue jay, Crow, Baltimore Oriole, Purple Grackle or Crow Blackbird, Chipping Sparrow, Chewink, Rose- breasted Grosbeak, Indigobird, Scarlet Tanager, Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow- throated Vireo, White-eyed Vireo, Black- and-white Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Ovenbird, Mary- land Yellow-throated Warbler, American Redstart, Cat- bird, Brown Trasher, House Wren, White-breasted Nut- hatch, Chickadee, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Blue- bird and English Sparrow. Birds that eat grasshoppers and crickets are the Mock- ingbird, Thrasher, Bluebird, Wrens, Shore Lark, Gold- finch, Longspur, Grasshopper Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Junco, Lark Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Cardinal, Chewink, Bobolink, Cow Bird, Red- winged Blackbird, Meadowlark, Baltimore Oriole, Orchard Oriole, Rusty Blackbird, Crow, Bluejay, Kingbird, Crow Blackbird, Whip-poor-will, Night Hawk, Swift, Cuckoo, 26 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. Eed-headed Woodpecker, Flicker, Barn Owl, Great-horned Owl, Marsh Hawk, Sparrow Hawk, Gulls, Swainson's Hawk, Quail, Shrikes, Swallows, Vireos, Eobin and Cat- bird. In the Massachusetts Crop Eeport for July, 1896, Mr. William E. Sessions gives a list of the birds he has seen feeding on the army worm during the present summer: Kingbird, Phoebe, Bobolink, Cowbird, Eed-winged Black- bird, Baltimore Oriole, Crow Blackbird, Chipping Spar- row, Eobin. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 27 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. NOTE. ID the classification of birds an attempt has been made to give them under their common names, by which they are best known in New Jersey, exceptions being made in cases where the birds belong to some species represented by a number of others. fir A*. I/ittle^ Dovekie or Sea Dove. Length, eight to nine inches; extent, fourteen inches; bill, half an inch; head, white and black; back, black; breast, upper brown, lower, white; belly, white; sides, white; tail, black and white; upper wing, sooty black; under wing, black and white; legs, black; feet, black. It lays one or two eggs, of a bluish white color, one and four- fifths by one and one-fourth inches in size, on ledges and in crevices of rocks. It is a regular winter visitant to the New Jersey coast, coming down from the North Atlantic and Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It feeds on crabs and small fish. Ink. Razor-It illed,or Tinker. Length, sixteen and a half inches; bill, one and a quarter inches; head, black; back, black; breast, white; belly, white; sides, black; tail, black; wings, black; legs, black; feet, black. In winter the front of the neck and the sides are white. It lays one or two eggs, pale blue, spotted with brown, three by two inches in size, in crevices and fissures in rocks. It is a regular winter visitant to the New Jersey coast, breeding in Maine and northward. Its cry re- sembles a grunt or groan. It feeds on crabs and small fish. Baldpate. See Widgeon. Bee Martin. See Kingbird. 28 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. Beetle-head. See Black-bellied Plover. Bittern, Jflarsh Hen or Stake Driver. Length, twenty-seven inches; extent, three feet, four inches; bill, three inches; head, slate, black and brownish yellow; back, brown and brownish yellow ; breast, brown; belly, yellowish brown; sides, yellowish gray; tail, brown; upper wing, brown; under wing, white; legs, yellow; feet, yellow. Lays from three to five eggs of a pale buff color, two inches by one and a quarter in size. The nest is built of grasses on the ground in marshes. It breeds in temperate and tropical North America, as far south as Guatemala, but seldom south of Virginia. It is a regular visitant to New Jersey, being here from April to October, but spends the winter mostly south of the Middle States. The noise made by the bird, Brad- ford Torrey says, sounds like the working of an old-fash- ioned pump, a series of "hiccoughs" preceding the "boom." In New Jersey it is occasionally called the "Dunkadoo" from the sound it makes. When disturbed it rises with a kwa. Although it seems to spend most of its time during the day in standing still it is not alto- gether a nocturnal feeder. It feeds principally on frogs, lizards and snakes. Bittern, JLeast. Length, from twelve to thirteen inches; extent, sixteen inches; bill, one and three-quarter inches; head, black; back, greenish black; breast and belly, white; sides, pale yellow; tail, brown and yellow; upper wing, brown and slate; under wing, yellowish; legs, greenish and yellow; feet, yellow. It lays from three to six eggs usually four of a pale blue, one and one-fifth by one inch in size. The nest is built of grasses and plant stems among the rushes in the marshes. It breeds in temperate and tropical America, northward to Maine, and is a common summer resident along the New Jersey coast, going to the Southern States and further south for MARYLAND YEU^OWTHROAT AND THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 29 the winter. When disturbed it arises with a kwa\ its note during the breeding season is a soft coo-coo-coo-coo, somewhat resembling the cooing of a dove. It feeds on small fish, lizards, frogs and other aquatic food. Blackbird, Crow. See Bronzed Grackle and also Purple Grackle. Blackbird, Red- Winged. Length of the male, nine inches; of the female, seven and a quarter; extent, of the male, fourteen inches; of the female, twelve inches; bill nine-tenths of an inch. The general color is a rich blue black, with the exception of the shoulders of the wings in the male, which are a bright scarlet, and the legs, which are brownish black. The female has no scarlet and pre- sents a rather mottled appearance, the belly being streaked with white and the general plumage being speckeld with bay, brown and white. The young birds at first resemble the female, but the males assume the black and red plumage in September, when both young and old have a complete moult. The nest is pocket-like, sunk in a tussock of grass or hung between the branches of low bushes, reeds and al- ders. It is built about the middle of April, of coarse grasses and weedstalks, lined with finer grass. The eggs are from three to five, one inch by three-fourths in size, of a pale blue, fancifully streaked, spotted and scrawled with dark lilac or black, principally at the greater end. The birds breed all through temperate North America and pass the winter mainly south of the Middle States. They arrive in New Jersey in February and leave about the first of November, a few wintering in the southern part of the state. Its alarm note is chee-e-e-e, its song a rich onk-la-ree-e. Its food consists principally of weevils, with other in- sects, grasshoppers, grub worms, army worms and cater- pillars; its vegetable diet consists of wild rice and corn; 30 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. when feeding on the latter it also takes the worm under the husk. When wintering here it feeds on the seeds of ragweed and birdweed. Blackbird, Rusty or Thrush Blackbird. Length, nine to nine and a .half inches; extent, thirteen to four- teen inches; bill, four-fifths of an inch. The coloring of this bird, when breeding, is a glossy blue black, but in the fall and winter the plumage is bordered with rusty mark- ings which give it a decided brownish tint; the female, while breeding, is of a slate color, but in fall and winter is veiled with rusty like the male. The nest is a bulky af- fair, built in trees or on the ground, of twigs and coarse grasses, lined with finer grasses. There are from four to seven eggs, gray green in color, with brown or purple spots, one inch by three-fourths in size. The birds breed north of the northeastern boundary of the United States and winter south of the Middle States. They are seen in New Jersey, principally in the river marshes, in March and October; occasionally one is found to winter when the season is mild. They arrive in pairs and are very shy and retiring. Their song, very seldom heard, is a confu- sion of harsh whistles; the call note a cluck. Blackhead. See Greater Scaup. Blackhead^ Little. See Lesser Scaup. Blackbreast. See Eed-backed Sandpiper. Bluebill. See Greater Scaup. Bluebill, Little. See Lesser Scaup. Bluebird. Length, six and a half inches; extent, eleven inches; bill, half an inch; the head, tail and the wings are of a bright sky-blue with purple reflections; breast, brown; belly, white; legs, black; soles of feet, yel- m BLUEJAY. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 31 low. In the fall the plumage is tipped with brown. The female is of a duller cast than the male. The nest is composed of a few twigs and grasses in a hollow tree, decayed knothole, abandoned woodpecker hole, or a bird house. Mating begins in March and the male is one of the most jealous and attentive of lovers; when he finds a particularly juicy insect or other delicious morsel he almost invariably carries it to his mistress and he resents the approach of another male in the most warlike man- ner. The eggs are from four to six in number, of a bluish and rarely of a clear white color, four-fifths by three-fifths of an inch in size. There are generally two or three broods in a season. The birds inhabit the whole of the eastern part of the United States, being the first to arrive in the spring and apparently leaving their summer homes with regret, for they postpone their southward flight until the trees and bushes are bare. Some remain regularly throughout the winter. During the past few years the Bluebird has rapidly decreased in number throughout its range and un- less it again increases may soon be ranked as a rare bird. Their call note is tur-wee, tur-wee. The song is a plain- tive and oft -repeated warble, likened by Burroughs to purity, purity, and by Mabel Osgood Wright to Dear, dear, think of it ! Think of it ! Their food consists principally of large beetles and of such insects as they gather out of dead and decaying trees. Bluejay. Length, eleven and three-quarters inches; bill, one inch; head, crested, light blue or purple; back, lead blue; breast, bluish white with black crescent; belly, white; sides, dirty white, stained with purple; tail, blue, with black bars and white tips; upper wing, blue; under wing, barred with black and tipped with white; legs and feet, black. The nest is veiy large and is built of very closely woven roots; it is located in a tree crotch, generally between fif- 32 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. teen and twenty feet from the ground. The eggs are from four to six in number, of an ashy green with brown spots, and one and one-fifth by four-fifths of an inch in size. The birds breed throughout the eastern part of the United States. They gather in large flocks in August, September and October, and at the approach of cold weather the majority go south, although considerable numbers remain here, especially in the southern part of the state. The cry of the bird is Jay, jay jay. The bird has been frequently charged with being very destructive to other birds and to grain, but a government examination of 280 stomachs, collected at all times of the year, showed that in only three were there birds' eggs, and in only two birds; seventeen per cent, of the food was corn and twenty-two per cent, insects grasshoppers and caterpillars predominating in the latter. Observa- tion has shown that the bird prefers acorns, chestnuts, hazelnuts and beechnuts to corn, and that it does not take the latter unless impelled to do so by a scarcity of other food. It is an inveterate enemy of large beetles and makes existence miserable for the owls. Blue Peter. See Coot. Bobolink, Reed Bird, Rice Bird or JKics Bunt" ing. Length, seven and a half inches; bill, half an inch; extent, eleven and a half inches. In the spring the color- ing of the male is as follows: Head, black and cream; back, black, seamed with brownish yellow, the lower part grayish white; breast, belly and sides, black; tail, black; wings, black; legs, brownish flesh; feet, black. In the month of August this plumage is entirely moulted and a new dress donned, which is buff, like that of the female with the back streaked with brownish black: whole lower parts, dull yellow. The black dress is acquired by an- THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 33 other moult in spring and is at first broadly margined with buff, but this gradually wears off. The young males re- tain the dress of the female until the early part of the succeeding spring; the plumage of the female undergoes no material change of color. The nest is built on the ground in meadows or hayfields and is a rude contrivance of grasses and is not easily seen. The eggs are from four to seven in number, four-fifths by three-fifths of an inch in size, of clear gray with brown and blackish clouds and spots. The birds come from south of the Amazon early in the spring and spread themselves over the whole of the north- eastern United States and Canada, arriving here about the first of May. The males frequently precede the females by several days. Some few remain in northern New Jer- sey to breed, but large numbers go farther north. These return in the latter part of August, but we have large numbers with us until the latter part of September, when most have passed southward, although frequently consid- erable numbers remain until late in October. The migra- tion southward begins in August and continues right along. Their song is delightful, but incoherent; it begins when the birds reach Florida in their northward spring migration and continues until after the young have been hatched, when it changes to a simple call, resembling a me- talic chink. Wilson says of their song: "Some idea may be formed of this song by striking the high keys of a piano- forte at random, singly and quickly, making as many sud- den contrasts of high and low notes as possible. Many of the tones are in themselves charming, but they succeed each other so rapidly that the ear can hardly separate them." Burroughs compares the song to Ha! Ha! Ha! I must have my fun, Miss Silverthimble, if I break every heart in the meadow! See, see, see. Thoreau says: "It is as if he touched his harp with a vase of liquid melody and when he lifted it out notes fell like bubbles 34: THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. from the strings. * * * Away he launches and the meadow is all bespattered with melody." The food of the birds consists of insects, young corn, wild oats and reeds. It is the latter which brings the birds in large flocks to the meadows along the Hacken- sack and Delaware. Coming north the birds do a great deal of damage to the oats and wheat in Virginia and go- ing south they eat a great deal of rice in the Carolinas. It is stated, on no very reliable authority, that these birds did not migrate north until after rice cultivation had been begun in the Carolinas; it is, however, pretty certain that the rice fields materially increased the number of these birds. Bob W*hite, or Quail. Length, nine inches; extent, fourteen inches; bill, one-third of an inch; head, black and brown; back, red brown, sprinkled with ash and black ; breast, upper part reddish brown, lower part yel- lowish white; belly, pale yellow white; tail, ash sprinkled with reddish brown; wings, plain dusky; legs, pale ash. The female has the chin and sides of the head a yellowish brown, whereas in the male the chin is pure white, bound- ed by a band of black. The nest is usually built about the first of May on the ground in grassy fields, usually at the bottom of a thick tuft of grass; it is made of leaves and fine dry grasses, partly covered above and with an opening on one side. The eggs are from ten to twenty, pure white in color and one and one-fifth by one inch in size. The birds inhabit the whole of the eastern United States, as far west as Kansas and as far south as Georgia, but have become quite scarce in thickly settled districts. The cry of the bird is Bob White. Its food consists of grain, seeds, insects, and berries; it is very fond of buckwheat and also of potato bugs. Brant. Length, twenty-six inches; extent, three and THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 35 a half feet; the female is somewhat smaller. Head, black; back, brown gray, grayish brown at the edges; breast, the upper part black and the lower part ashy gray; belly, white and sides darker; tail, black with a great deal of white; upper wing, black and white; under wing, brown- ish gray, with some white; legs and feet, black.- The nest is built on the ground, of grasses and mosses, lined with down. The eggs are four in number, of a creamy white color, two and three-fourths by one and three-fourths inches in size. The birds breed somewhere up in the Arctic circle and arrive in New Jersey in the fall flight about the first of October. A few winter along the New Jersey coast, but most of them go farther south, many wintering in Vir- ginia. The principal food of the Brant is eel-grass. The Black Brant, which very much resembles the above, but being much darker on the lower breast and upper belly, is an exceedingly rare winter visitant, strag- gling in from the west. Brantbird. See Turnstone. Broadbill. See Greater Scaup. Broidbill, Creek. See Lesser Scaup. Brown Jflarlin. See Marbled Godwit. Brown Thrasher or Brown Thrush. Length, eleven and one-half inches; extent, fourteen inches; bill, one inch; head and back, reddish brown; breast, yellow- ish white with spots of black; belly, yellowish white; sides and tail, reddish brown the former with spots of black; upper wing, reddish brown; under wing, dusky; legs, dusky clay. The female may be distinguished from the male by the white on the wing being much narrower and the spots on the breast less. 36 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. The nest is built in old brush piles, or, if these are not convenient, in brambles. On the outside it is composed of coarse roots, then follows a layer of leaves and the in- side is lined with fine fibrous roots. The eggs are from three to six in number, bluish or greenish white, finely speckled with brown, one and one-fifth by four-fifths inches in size. There are two broods a year. The birds breed from the Middle and Eastern States to Florida and winter in the southern part of the United States. They arrive in New Jersey towards the latter part of April and leave shortly after the middle of October. They are very seldom seen here in winter. The alarm note of the bird is wheeu and the song is of the bravura style. Thoreau says that while the farmer is planting his corn the Brown Thrasher sings, Drop it, drop it, cover it up, cover it up, cover it up, pull it up, pull it up, pull it up; another lover of birds likens it to Look up, Look up, Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to God, Hallelujah, Amen, videlicet. Government analyses of 121 stomachs show that the contents consisted of 63 per cent, insect and animal mat- ter and 35 per cent, vegetable matter, the rest being sand. Of the animal matter one-half was composed of beetles; 11 per cent, was matter from cultivated crops, of which 8 were fruit and the rest grain. The food of the bird changes with the supply, being seven parts insects and one part vegetable in May. Bull-bat. See Night Hawk. Bunting, Bay winged. See Vesper Sparrow. Bunting, Indigo. See Indigo Bird. Bunting, Snow. See Snowflake. Butcher Bird. See Northern Shrike. CARDINAL. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 3< nuttcrball. See Buffle-headed Duck. Calicoback. See Turnstone. Canary, Wild. See Goldfinch. Canvasback. See Canvasback Duck. Cardinal, Cardinal Grosbeak, or V*irginii Nightingale. Length, eight and a quarter inches; bill three fifths of an inch; extent, eleven niches; head, con- spicuously crested, of a bright vermiUion, tipped with grayish; the bill red, and black about the base. The color of the bird is a uniform rosy red, the legs being light clay and the feet darker to brown. The female is brownish gray, lighter beneath and tinted with dull red. The birds of both sexes are excellent providers for their young and the male is a devoted husband. The nest is a bulky affair, built in bushes, of twigs, roots and bark, lined with fine grass. The eggs are three or four in number, one inch by seven-tenths in size; white with spots of red and brown. The birds breed in the eastern United States east of Iowa and are residents all through New Jersey, being numerous in the southern part. A large number winter here, some, however, going further south. The bird has been introduced into France and England as a cage bird and in the latter country has been named the Virginia Nightingale. Its call note is tsip and its song a clear whistle re- sembling the word peace, peace, with the ea long drawn out. Its food consists principally of worms, grubs and in- sects. Catbird. Length, nine inches; extent, thirteen inches; bill, three -fifths of an inch. The bird is of a deep slate color, the tail being black and the under part 38 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. of the tail chestnut. The legs and feet are black. The location of the nest depends altogether on the treatment the bird receives; if treated kindly the nest will be found in the lilac bush, on the piazza or in some bush near the house; if it is driven away the nest will be found in the thickest brush of the woods. Its nest is built of twigs, grasses, leaves and small roots. It gener- ally has two broods a year. The eggs are from three to five in number, of a rich green blue, one inch by seven- tenths of an inch in size. The birds breed throughout the United States, coming to New Jersey about the middle of May and returning south- ward about the middle of October; a few stragglers some- times pass the winter here. It would be almost impossible to describe the song of the bird, as it is generally composed of the notes of other birds and consequently varies with locality. Its call is a rasping feline note, Like the mewing of a cat. Its note of alarm sounds something like zeay, zeay. Government reports of the examination of 213 stom- achs indicate that one- third of its food is insects, one- third wild fruits and one-third cultivated fruits. Among insects it prefers beetles, ants, caterpillars, crickets and grasshoppers in the order named. Cat Owl. See long-eared Owl. Cedar Bird, Cedar Waxwing, or Cherry Bird. Length, seven inches; extent, eleven inches; bill, one- fourth of an inch; head, dark fawn, crested; back, dark fawn ; breast, light blue ; belly, yellowish; sides and tail, bluish gray; wing, a deep slate with a little fawn and white, tipped with small red appendages like sealing wax on the ends of several of the quills; legs and feet, black. The red tips are independent of sex and age; some birds have them, some do not. The nest is from five to twenty feet from the ground in CATBIRD. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 39 fruit or shade trees; it is a bulky contrivance, made of roots, twigs, grass, moss and sometimes mud. The eggs are from three to five in number, nine-tenths by three- fifths of an inch in size, of a dingy blue white, thick at one end and tapering suddenly. The birds breed throughout temperate North America, spreading south, wintering from the northern United States to Central America; in New Jersey they are scarce in winter and occur in great flocks early in summer. Their call is referred to by Thoreau as a " beady note," twee-twee-zee. Government analyses of 125 stomachs show that only seventeen per cent, of the total food consists of insects, the rest being made up of the pulp, skin and seeds of fruits and sometimes seeds and other parts of flowers; they consume the most insects when fruit is most abun- dant and feed their young to a great extent on insects; in winter they subsist to a large extent on cedar berries. Chat, yellow-breasted. Length, seven and a half inches; extent, ten inches; bill, two-fifths of an inch; the back, tail and upper wings are of a rich olive green with a brownish glaze; breast, bright yellow; lower belly, white; sides, bright yellow; under wing, ;bright yellow; legs and feet, light lead. The nest is built about the middle of May in a crotch of a bush near the ground; it is a bulky contrivance of coarse grasses, roots and bark compactly interwoven and lined with fine grasses and plant fibre. The eggs are from three to five in number, white in color with brown spots and nine-tenths by three-fifths of an inch in size. The birds breed in the eastern part of the United States, comparatively few being found in the northern part of New Jersey. They are here from May to Sep- tember and spend the winter in Mexico and further south. Their alarm note is a chut, chut, chut, and their song a mixture of caws and whistles, varied and frequently 40 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. mocking in tone. They feed principally on insects and berries, preferring large black beetles and whortleberries. Chebec. See Least Flycatcher. Cherry-bird. See Cedarbird. Chewink, Towhee, JToree, Ground Robin, or Swamp Robin. Length, from seven to nine inches; ex- tent, from ten to twelve inches; bill, half an inch; head, back and breast, black; belly, white; sides, bright bay; tail, black, tipped with white; wings, black, with one or two white spots; legs and feet, dirty flesh. The female has the upper part and breast grayish brown. The nest is a large and substantial structure, built on the ground and sometimes half way into it, and well-hid- den under brush; it is frequently found in a thicket of briars. It is built of leaves and bark and lined with fine grasses. The eggs are four or five in number, white in color with fine brown spots, and one inch by seven-tenths of an inch in size. There are generally two broods a year. The birds breed from the Southern States northward to British America and spend the winter in the south from Virginia to Florida. They frequent principally the dry uplands and pine barrens. They arrive in New Jersey about the middle of April and leave about the middle of October. Their call cry is Chewink or Tohee, and Ernest Thomp- son has likened their song to Chuck -burr -pill-a-will- a will- a. The birds are very industrious in hunting insects, worms and larvae, and in the fall feed on berries and hard seeds. Chickadee, Black-capped, or Titmouse. Length, five and a half inches; extent, six and a half inches; bill, two-fifths of an inch; head, black; back, lead- colored; breast, belly and sides, grayish white; tail and CHEWIXKS. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 41 wings, lead-colored with white margin; legs, light blue. The birds nest in an old stump or hole in a tree, fifteen feet or less from the ground; the nest is made of moss, grass, feathers, hair, fur and plant down. The eggs are from five to eight in number, three-fifths by one-half inch in size, white with brown spots principally near the larger end. There are two broods in one year. The birds are regular winter visitants in New Jersey, and breed in the northern counties. Their song in the summer is Chick-a-dee-dee-dee, in. win- ter Chick a -day day- day. Their food consists principally of insects with very little fruit. In an article on ' 'Birds as Protectors of Or- chards," Mr. E. H. Forbush, of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, says of the Chicadees: "There is no bird that can compare with it in destroying the female canker- worm moths and their eggs." He calculated that one Chickadee in one day would destroy 5,550 eggs, and in the twenty-five days in which the canker-worm moths rim, or crawl up the trees 138,750 eggs. Mr. Forbush attract- ed Chickadees to one orchard by feeding them in winter, and he says that in the following summer "it was noticed that while trees in neighboring orchards were seriously in- fested with canker-worms and to a less degree with tent- caterpillars, those in the orchards which had been fre- quented by the Chickadees during the winter and spring were not seriously infested and that comparatively few of the worms and caterpillars were to be found there." His conclusion is that birds that eat eggs of insects are of the greatest value to the farmer, as they feed almost entirely on injurious insects and their eggs, and are pre- sent all winter, when other birds are absent. In south- ern New Jersey this species is replaced by the following, except in winter, when both occur. Chickadee, Carolina. Length, four inches; extent, six inches; bill, one-third of an inch. This bird is scarce- 42 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. ly distinguished from the preceding, but is somewhat smaller and has less white margins to the wings and tail. They nest in holes in trees, frequently in cavities dug by themselves, the nest being built of grass, bark, feathers and hair. The eggs are from five to eight in number, one-third by two-fifths of an inch in size, white, spotted with brown at the larger end. They breed in the south eastern United States, being plentiful in southern New Jersey and extremely scarce in the northern part of the state. They remain here all the year. The song is a tremulous My watcher key, changing to a plaintive tewee-dee, tewee dee. Their food consists principally of insects, with very little fruit, being frequently occupied in looking for insects and larvae in acorns, nuts and rotten parts of bark. Chippy. See Chipping Sparrow. Chippy, Winter. See Tree Sparrow. Clape. See Flicker. Coot, Crow-duck, or Slue Peter. Length, fifteen or sixteen inches; extent, twenty-eight inches; bill, four- fifths of an inch. It is of a slate color with a black head and an ivory-white bill, an inch and a half long; the wings and tail are tipped with white and the legs and feet are greenish. It builds its nest of reeds and grasses, in fresh water marshes, the number of the eggs being eight to fifteen, the color pale yellowish white, thickly speckled with brown, and the size one and four- fifths by one and one-fourth inches. It breeds from the northern United States northward and spends the winter in the southern United States and Central America. It arrives in New Jersey in April, but is more plentiful in the fall migration towards the end of September or first of Octo- CHICKADEES. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 43 ber. It is generally found in large rivers and bays. Its food consists of aquatic plants and grasses. Coot, Black. See American Scoter. Coot, Sea. See Surf Scoter. Coot, W*hite-winged. See White- winged Scoter. Cormorant, or Shag. Tbis bird is a rare visitor to New Jersey, breeding from New England to Greenland and in the winter months coming south occasionally as far as New Jersey. It is thirty-six inches in length, the bill being three inches, and the general color a glossy black; the upper wing is black and brown and the head is sprinkled with white; the back is a light brown. It breeds on rocky cliffs, surfaces of rocky islands and some- times in trees, the nest being conical, and made of sticks and seaweed. The eggs are from four to six in number, of a pale bluish white, two and a half by one and a half inches in size. Its food is fish. Cormorant, Double-crested. This bird is very sim- ilar to the foregoing, the principal difference being that it is six inches shorter, the bill two-thirds of an inch shorter, and that the belly is a glossy black, the upper part being grayish brown. The eggs are from two to four in num- ber, somewhat smaller than those of the preceding but similar in color. It breeds from the Bay of Fundy north- ward and in the winter goes south as far as Maryland. It is very common in New Jersey during migrations and in fact all winter. Its food is fish. Cow Bird. Length, seven inches; extent, eleven inches; bill, two-thirds of an inch; head, a silky drab. The rest of the plumage is black with a gloss of green or purple when viewed in certain lights. The female is uni- formly gray. 44 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. This bird it about as disreputable as a bird well can be and this fact seems to be accepted by others of the bird kind. Although occasionally seen in company with a Red- winged Blackbird it had no companions until the in- troduction of the English Sparrow, when it found a con- genial companion. It builds no nest under any circum- stances, but drops its eggs which are white, evenly speckled with brown and different shades of gray, and nine-tenths by seven- tenths of an inch in size into the nests of other birds, invariably selecting those of birds smaller than itself and those of a mild and affectionate disposition. It is a well known fact that birds do not lay their eggs for a day or two after the completion of a nest; should the Cow Bird drop an egg into a nest in this interim the chances are that it will be thrown out or that the rightful owner of the nest abandons it. But if an egg or two has been laid in a nest by its builder the chances are that the addition of an egg by a Cow Bird will pass un- noticed and that the bird will rear the offspring thus foisted upon it. As soon as large enough to fly the young birds join those of their kind. The bird spends its winter in the southern United States and Mexico and comes north about the first of April, re- turning south in October; large numbers go farther north in the spring. Some winter in the southern part of New Jersey. Its cry is about as unmusical as it can possibly be, somewhat resembling cluck-see. About the only redeeming trait of the bird is its almost constant chase after insects and worms; it generally fol- lows the cattle, picking up seeds and insects from the droppings and from hoofs. It also frequently destroys grasshoppers. Crane , Blue. See Great Blue Heron. Creek, Broadbill. See Lesser Scaup. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 45 Creeper, Black and White. Sea Black and White Warbler. Creeper, Brown. Length, five inches; extent, seven inches; bill, two-thirds of an inch; head, brownish black; back, brown with yellow and white streaks; breast, gray- ish white; belly, white; tail, pale grayish brown; upper wing, brownish black, with whitish brown bars; under wing, dusky white and black; legs and feet, a dirty clay color. The nest of this bird is located behind the loose bark of a tree and made of twigs, bark and moss very closely re- sembling the color of the place it is built on. The eggs are from five to eight in number, three-fifths by one-half inches in size, white, with brown spots; sometimes with a pink tinge. It breeds from the northern border of the United States northward and also further south on the higher moun- tains, and in winter is distributed throughout the eastern United States. In New Jersey it is a common winter resident, arriving about the middle of September and re- maining until about the middle of April. Although in the north it is said to render exquisite song, in New Jersey it is confined to a few squeaky notes. In fact the bird does not seem to have time to sing, his whole existence apparently being taken up looking for in- sects and larvae in trees. It ascends the tree, beginning at the very root and encircling it as it goes up; when it reaches the top it drops down to the root of another tree and thus keeps up a continual pilgrimage, ever alert for food. Crossbill, American, or Red Crossbill. Length, five and three-quarter inches; extent, nine inches; bill, two-thirds of an inch. This bird is a very irregular vis- itor in New Jersey, occasionally occurring in winter in small flocks,' but generally confining itself to mountain- 46 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. ous ranges farther inland. Its plumage is of a dull red, brighter on the rump and darker on the back; the wings and tail are of dark slate, the tail being edged with red. The female is a little smaller and of a greenish color; the wings and tail brownish black, edged with green. The bills of both are crossed at the end, this ap- parent malformation being made good use of in securing the seeds from the cones of the pine trees, the principal food of the bird. Its nest is made of twigs and grasses, lined with small roots and plant fibre. The eggs are three or four in number, of a pale green with brown spots, three-fourths by four-fifths of an inch in size. Crow. Length, eighteen and one-half inches; extent, three feet and two inches; bill, two inches. The general color is a shining, glossy, blue black with purplish reflec- tions; the throat and lower parts are less glossy; the bill is two and a quarter inches long, very strong, and covered at the base with thick tufts of re- cumbent feathers. The female differs very slight- ly from the male, being more dull colored and rather de- ficient in the glossy and purplish tints and reflections. The nests are found in trees about thirty feet from the ground, evergreen trees being preferred. The nests are bulky structures of sticks, lined with strips of bark, moss or hair. Mating begins in March and extends through April and May. The eggs are from four to six in number, one and three-fifths by one and one-fifth inches in size. The color is a blue green, mottled with shades of brown. The Crows breed and are distributed over the whole of North America. In winter they desert New England, their migrations as a rule, however, being very limited and generally only for the purpose of securing a better supply of food. The call note of the bird is a caw, in the spring a quavering Jcar-r-er. Whether the crow is a harmful bird or whether its THE BIRDS OF XEW JERSEY. 4Y good traits more than counterbalance the mischief it does is a question which has given rise to a great deal of dis- cussion. The government has made very exhaustive in- quiries into the feeding habits of the bird, the results of which have been published in book form. The results of these investigations, the contents of the stomachs of nine hundred and nine crows taken at all times of the year having been analyzed, have been summarized by Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy, as follows: "The most important charges brought against the Crow are: (1) That it pulls sprouting corn; (2) That it injures corn in the milk; (3) That it destroys cultivated fruit; and (4) That it feeds on the eggs and young of poultry and wild birds. All of these charges are sustained by the stomach examinations, so far as the simple fact that Crows feed upon the substances named. But the extent of the injury is a very different matter. In order to as- certain whether the sum of the harm done outweighs the sum of the good, or the contrary, the different kinds of food found in the stomachs have been reduced to quant- itive percentages and contrasted. The total quantity of corn eaten during the entire year amounts to 25 per cent, of the food of adult Crows, and only 9.3 per cent, of the food of young Crows. Leaving the young out of consid- eration, it may be said that in agricultural districts about one- fourth of the food of crows consists of corn. But less than 14 per cent, of this corn, and only 3 per cent, of the total food of the crow, consists of sprouting corn, and corn in milk; the remaining 86 per cent, of the corn, or 97 per cent, of the total food, is chiefly waste grain picked up here and there, mainly in winter, and of no economic value. In the case of cultivated fruits the loss is trivial. The same is true of the eggs and young of poultry and wild birds, the total for the year amounting to only one per cent, of the food. As an offset to his bad habits, the Crow is to be credited with the good done in 48 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. destroying noxious insects and other injurious animals. Insects form 26 per cent, of the entire food, and the great majority of these are grasshoppers, May-beetles, cut- worms and other injurious kinds. It is shown by Mr. Schwarz that during the May-beetle season, in May and June, these beetles form the principal insect food of the Crow. Only a few stomachs do not contain them, and stomachs are often filled with them. The fact that the May beetle season coincides with the breeding season of the Crow is of special importance, the principal insect food of nestling Crows consisting of these beetles. Mr. Schwarz also finds that grasshoppers occur in the stom- achs throughout the year; that during the May-beetle season they occur in the vast majority of stomachs, but usually in moderate numbers ; that with the disappearance of May-beetles towards the end of June they increase in number until in August and throughout the fall they constitute by far the greater part of the insect food, often occurring in astonishing numbers, and often forming the only insect food. To the same side of the scale must be added the destruction of mice, rabbits and other injurious rodents by the Crow. In summing up the benefits and losses resulting from the food habits of this bird, it is clear that the good exceeds the bad and that the Crow is a friend rather than an enemy of the farmer. Crow Blackbird. See Purple Grackle. Crone Blackbird. See Bronzed Grackle. Crow, Duck. See Coot. Crow, Fish. Length, sixteen inches; extent, thirty- three inches; bill, one and a half inches. The general color is a jet black, with blue and purplish reflections and somewhat greenish on the upper part. It is very similar to the common Crow, both in appearance and nesting. The eggs are four to six in number, one and a half by THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 49 one inch in size. It frequents the Gulf and Atlantic coasts as far north as Connecticut and some remain here all winter, although the vast majority go further south at the approach of cold weather. Its cry is the same as that of the common Crow, but hoarser and more gutteral and with a nasal twang. Although it obtains most of its food along the seashore it is also frequently seen along inland rivers, invariably resorting to woods for roosting and nesting. Its food is confined to fish, shell-fish and lizards, and garbage and offal found floating on the sur- face of the water. Crow, Rain. See Cuckoo. Cuckoo. Length, thirteen inches; extent, sixteen in- ches; bill, three-fourths of an inch. There are two kinds of Cuckoos, very nearly allied, the black-billed and the yellow-billed, the latter being the more numerous. In the Yellow-billed Cuckoo the whole upper parts are of a glossy drab, with greenish silk reflections; from this must be excepted the inner webs of the wing feathers, which are a bright reddish cinnamon; the two middle tail feathers are like the back, the others black, largely tipped with white; the whole lower parts are pure white; the legs and feet are light blue. The general color of the Black-billed Cuckoo is nearly that of the yellow-billed, but the tail feathers are all colored like the back, the outer ones with very slight tips of black and white; the wings also want the bright cinna- mon, while the bare eyelids are of a deep red color; as indicated by the name the lower mandible in one species is yellow and in the other black. The upper mandible is black in both. The females differ little in appearance from the males. Unlike the European Cuckoo the American bird builds its own nest, although it is not a very pretentious affair, being composed of small sticks and grasses; that of the 50 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. black-billed is more compact. It is very flat and is built in the early part of May in a low tree or bush, from five to ten feet from the ground. The eggs are from three to four in number, of a pale greenish blue, in the black- billed the greenish hue being deeper. The eggs are about one and a fourth by nine-tenths of an inch in size, those of the black- billed being a trifle smaller, or about one and one-tenth by four-fifths of an inch. The birds arrive in New Jersey from the West Indies and Mexico about the middle of April and remain until September. They are distributed throughout the eastern and middle portions of the United States. Their cry is kuk-kuk-kuk, harsh and grating; their song is composed of tut-tut tut, cluck-cluck-cluck, kowe-kowe- kowe. The first notes are repeated rapidly at first, getting gradually slower, and the last somewhat drawn out. The food of the Cuckoo consists principally of caterpil- lars, the bird evincing a particular liking for those that infest apple-trees; fifty or sixty are found at a time in its stomach and the interior of the latter presents the appear- ance of a felt hat from the deposit of the hairs of the caterpillars. It also at times feeds on the larvae of insects and a few berries. The black-billed confines itself almost exclusively to small shell-fish, snails and larvae such as are found near or in streams, and is consequently not so valuable a bird. Curlew, or Jack Curlew. Length, seventeen inches; extent, thirty-two inches; bill, three and three-fourths inches. The upper parts are a dull brown mottled with buff, the belly being whitish or a light buff, streaked with dusky on neck and breast, tail barred with dusky. Their breeding location is in the far north; the number of eggs is three or four, of a pale brown color and two and a quarter by one and a half inches in size. The birds are common along the coast of New Jersey in May CUCKOO. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 51 and again from the middle of July to the middle of Sep- tember. Their food consists of worms, crickets, beetles, snails and small shell-fish. nab Chick. See Pied-billed Grebe. Diedapper. See Pied-billed Grebe. Diver, Crreat JYwthern. See Loon. Dove. Length, twelve inches; extent, nineteen inches; bill, half an inch. The general appearance of the bird is a bluish fawn color. Above it is an olive brown, varying to a bluish gray, with a few black spots on the back and inner wing feathers; the sides of the neck have metallic tints; the belly is of a vinaceous cinnamon, changing to a buff and lead color on the sides; the bill is black and the feet red. The tail feathers are gray with large ter- minal spots of white or gray, light gray preceded by a black band, central pair, uniform brown. In the female the colors are somewhat duller. The nest is frequently nothing but a deserted robin's nest, flattened out and a few sticks placed upon it; when the bird builds its own nest, generally in the lower branches of a tree or in a garden, it is a rudely constructed affair composed of small twigs. Mating begins in April. The eggs are two in number, of a white color, one inch by four-fifths of an inch in size. The bird breeds over the whole of North America as far north as Canada. It arrives in New Jersey in April from the southern part of the United States and returns in November, although a few winter in the southern part of the state. Their cry is a soft, plaintive Coo-o-o, ah-coo-o-o coo-o coo-o-o. The food of this bird consists of grain and corn, but the latter is very seldom taken from the ear; it very rarely feeds on insects. 52 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. Dove, Sea. See Little Auk. Dovekie. See Little Auk. Dowitcher^ or IZed-Breasted Snipe. Length, ten and a half inches; extent, eighteen inches; bill, two and a quarter inches. This bird has a mottled appearance on account of its being spotted with black ; the back is black, barred with light buff, the under parts reddish buff, spotted with round black dots; the long wing feathers are black, tail barred "with black and white. In winter it is much grayer above and white beneath, streaked with dusky on the neck. It breeds in the far north and spends the winter in Florida, Mexico and South America. It ar- rives in New Jersey during the latter part of May and again during the latter part of July. Its eggs are four in number, of a light brown, spotted with deep brown, and one and three-fifths inches by one and one- tenth in size. In winter the plumage changes to a brownish gray. The long-billed or Western Dowitcher is occasionally seen in small numbers in company with the foregoing; it has a longer bill and its plumage is considerably darker. It is very similar to the Dowitcher but very much rarer. Duck, Rlach\ or Dusky Duck. Length, twenty- two inches; extent, thirty- three inches; bill, two and one- fifth inches. The general coloration above is a deep dusky, slightly tipped with buff. The bill is greenish yellow; below the body is streaked with dusty brown and cinna- mon; the tail sooty brown, the upper wing sooty brown and the legs and feet yellowish red. In the female there is more brown. The nest is a mat of marsh grass built on the ground, the eggs being from eight to twelve in number, of a light greenish or bluish yellow, two and a half by one and three- fourths inches in size. It breeds in the Middle States as far north as Hudson's Bay; it arrives in New Jersey during the latter part of October and remains un- THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 53 til about the middle of March. Its winter distribution extends to the South Atlantic States. Its food is com- posed principally of shell-fish and its flesh has a delicate flavor. When molested it frequently passes a day at sea. A few probably breed in this state. Duck, Broadbill. See Scaup. l>*f r/ . Kit/ffC'hctttl. It utter ball or Spirit Duck. Length, thirteen to fifteen inches; extent, twenty- two to twenty-five inches; the head is puffy and over the back of the head from eye to eye runs a broad white band ; the rest of the head and neck is a purple green and blue gloss; the bih 1 is only an inch long, being very short; back, black; wings, black and white; breast, belly and sides, white; the tail ashy gray and pointed. The female is somewhat smaller; whole upper parts sooty brown, with a white patch on each side of the head; breast and belly, dull white; tail, brown. The young males resemble the females. The nest is built in a hollow tree or stump, the eggs being from six to twelve in number, of a light yellow color, two inches by one and a half in size. Its breeding location is far northward and it spends the win- ter in New Jersey and as far south as Cuba and Mexico. It remains in New Jersey from about the first of Novem- ber to the middle of April and is most numerous along the seacoast and in large rivers. It is a great diver and a very swift flyer. The food consists of small fish, shell- fish and shrimp, and it is considered a fair table bird. Duck, Butter-ball. See Buffle-head Duck. Duck, Canvasback. Length, twenty-one to twenty four inches; extent, three feet. The bill is black, two and a half inches long; the neck is a reddish brown and the chin and crown dusky; the upper back is black, the lower white with fine wavy black lines; breast, black; belly, white; the lower part with fine black wavy 54: THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. lines; sides, white; tail, brown, short and pointed; wings, gray, with specks of black; legs and feet, pale ash. The female has the neck and upper breast brown; the back is a grayish brown, with many wavy white lines and the white on the belly is duller than in the male. It nests only in the interior, on the ground, in marshes near the water; the number of eggs is from six to ten, blue white in color, two and two-fifths by one and three-fourths inches in size. Its breeding location is northward of the northwestern part of the United States and in winter it spreads itself from the Chesapeake to Mexico, being rare in New Jersey. Its food consists of frogs, lizards, tadpoles, fish, grasses and the roots thereof; it is considered a great table delicacy, especially after it has been feeding on eel-grass, or wild celery, for some time, although by some it is considered inferior to the Eedhead Duck. Duck, Dusky. See Black Duck. it nek, Golden-eye . See Golden- eye. Dttek, Gray, or 4* ad* vail. Length, nineteen and a half inches; extent, thirty -one inches; bill, one and three fourths inches; head brown, black on top and sides of head buff, spotted with black; breast, black, pencilled with white, giving it the appearance of scales; belly, white, dull white or gray; tail, tapering, of a pale brown edged with white; wings, black and brown; legs and feet, orange red or yellow; in the female the breast and sides are yellowish, the belly is white and there is more white on the wings. The eggs number from eight to twelve, of a pale yellow, two inches by one and a half in size. Its breeding location is in the northern interior and in the winter it spreads itself over the South Atlantic States and southward, being rare in New Jersey, one being occasion- ally shot on the coast. It is accorded a good table bird. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 55 Duck, Long-Tail. See Old Squaw Duck. Duck, Mallard. Length, twenty-three inches; ex- tent, three feet; bill, two and a quarter inches. The bill is a greenish yellow: head and neck, glossy greenish and bluish black, with a white collar around the neck; upper part of the back, a dark grayish brown, growing darker near the tail; breast, brown; belly, grayish white, with wavy black lines; sides, pale gray, waved with darker; tail, mostly white, with some gray, brown and black; wings, above grayish white, waved with black, patch of bright glossy blue feathers with white bands around the middle; legs and feet, orange red. In the female the whole plumage above and below is mottled with brown and light buff, lighter beneath. It nests on the ground near water, the nest being composed of grass, weeds and feathers. The eggs are from six to ten in number, of a pale yellow- ish or bluish white, two and a half by one and three- quarter inches in size. Its breeding location is the northern hemisphere and in winter it is distributed throughout the temperate region; in New Jersey it is more frequently found on the rivers than along the coast. Its quack cannot be distinguished from that of the domestic duck. Its food is principally vegetable and its flesh is considered excellent. Duck, Merganser. See Merganser. Dnck. Old Squaw, Old Wife, Long-tailor South Southerly. Length, about twenty-three inches, depend- ing a great deal on the length of the tail, which varies; extent, from thirty to thirty- four-inches; bill, one inch. The female is somewhat smaller, being sixteen inches in length and twenty-eight in extent. The front and sides of the head are gray; back of the head, yellowish white; the back, black and gray; breast, belly and sides, white; the tail is long and pointed, black; wings, black; legs and 56 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. feet, dusky slate. The male in summer has the breast and upper belly black, and upper surface black and white with no gray tints; female duller than male. The nest is built on the ground, near water, under low bushes or in tall grass; it is made of grass and lined with down. The eggs are from six to twelve in number, of a bluish white with dark slate spots and two by one and one-half inches in size. It breeds in the far north and during the winter goes as far south as Chesa- peake bay; it arrives in New Jersey late in Octo- ber and remains until the middle of April, being abundant along the coast and occasionally found in the rivers It is a very noisy duck, having a sonorous musical voice, its cry resembling " South Southerly," from which one of it names is derived. It is not particular as to its food, frequents the salt water and is seldom found far from the sea. On account of its devouring so many fish its flesh lias a fishy taste. Muck. Pintail^ or Sprigtail. Length, about thirty inches, somewhat depending on the length of the tail, which varies; extent, three feet; bill, two inches; head, brown; also the back of the neck, except two white lines which run up to the back of the head; breast, white; back, belly and sides, white, with fine wavy lines of black ; tail, long, very much pointed, black and gray; wings, gray, inner feathers long and pointed, black with buff edges, spot on wing glossy green; legs and feet, lead. The female presents a somewhat more mottled appearance, the breast being yellowish, the back dark slate, the tail shorter and dark brown with white spots. The nest is built on the ground, near water, of grasses and weeds. The eggs are from six to twelve in number, of a yellowish or bluish white, two and one-fifth by one and one -half inches in size. Its breeding location is in the northern United States and northward and in the winter it goes as far south as Cuba and Panamai It is transient in New THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 57 Jersey, being seen along the coast from the latter part of October to the middle of November, although occasionally stray specimens are found later in the winter. Its cry is confined to a very low quack, heard only at night. It feeds principally on mud flats and in shallow fresh water marshes and its flesh is considered exceUent for the table. Duck. Redhead. Length, from nineteen to twenty- three inches; extent, two feet and six inches; bill, one and three-fourths inches. In all plumages resembles the Canvasback, but is distinguished by the much darker back, which is dark gray instead of nearly white. The bill is also shorter than in the Canvasback and does not run so far up on the forehead. It builds its nest on the ground, in marshes near water. The number of eggs is from six to twelve, of a dull white color, two and two-fifths by one and three-fourths inches in size. It breeds north of Maine and in winter migrates as far south as Mexico. It is an occasional visitor to New Jersey from the first of November to the first of March. Its food is principally vegetable, being the stems of grass- es in salt and brackish water. Its flesh is considered a table delicacy. Duck, Ring-necked. Length, sixteen and a half inches; extent, twenty-eight inches; bill, one and four- fifths inches. The head is black and there is a chestnut collar around the neck. The back is black; the breast is black; the belly is white, with fine black lines over the lower part and sides. In the female brown takes the place of black in the plumage. It builds its nest on the ground, in marshes near water. The eggs are from six to twelve in number, of a dull bluish white, two and one-fourth by one and three-fifths inches in size. It breeds north of the United States and in win- ter goes as far south as Guatemala. It is scarce in New Jersey, although a few are occasionally seen on the rivers and bays between November and March. 58 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. -, Ruddy. Length, Fifteen inches; extent, twenty-two inches; bill, one and one-half inches; head top black, the cheek and chin white; back, a bright mahogany, darker lower down; breast, mahogany; belly, gray; tail, black, greatly tapering; wings, drab; legs and feet, ash. The female has the upper parts grayish brown, as has also the young bird. It builds a nest on the ground near water. The eggs are from six to ten in number, of a yellowish white, two and a half by one and three-fourths inches in size. Its breeding lo- cation is northward of the United States and in the winter it goes further south. It is seen occasionally along the coast of New Jersey, but is more plentiful in the rivers. Its food is principally vegetable and its flesh is considered excellent for the table. Duck, Scaup. See Scaup. Duck, Scoter. See Scoter. Duck, Spirit. See Buffle-head Duck. Duck, Sprigtail. See Pintail Duck. Duck, Summer. See Wood Duck. Duck, Teal. See Teal. Duck, Whistler. See Golden-eye. Duck, Widgeon. See Widgeon. Duck, Wood, or Summer Duck. Length, nine- teen inches; extent, two feet, four inches; bill, one and a third inches, red, margined with black; the front, crown and crest is a rich, glossy, bronze green, ending in violet and with lines of white; sides of the upper neck and cheeks, violet; chin, throat and collar around the neck, pure white; breast, maroon brown, with minute tri- THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 59 angular spots of white which increase as they spread in- to the white of the belly; each side of the breast is bounded by a crescent of white and that by a broader one of deep black; sides of body, buff, finely waved with black lines; the wings are glossy blue black, the outer feathers edged with silvery white; the tail is very tapering, black glossed with green and dusky below; the legs and feet are yeUowish red. In the female the head is slightly crested and the chin and throat are white; the head and neck are a dark drab, upper surface of body brown, under surface white, more or less mottled with dusky. The nest is generally built near the water in a hollow tree, or if this is not convenient, in the fork of a tree, fre- quently at a considerable distance from the ground. The nest is built of sticks and lined with down taken from the breast of the parent bird. In New Jersey the duck begins breeding about the last of April or the first of May. The eggs are generally thirteen in number, being two and an eighth inches by one and a half inches in size and oval in shape. The color is generally slightly yellow- ish, very fine grained and of a high polish; at times the eggs have a greenish tint, the difference in color being supposed to be due to the age of the bird. The breeding location is temperate North America and Cuba and its distribution is about the same, although in extreme cold weather in the north some frequently migrate south; in addition to those which winter here migrants arrive about the first of April and many of these remain all winter. The cry of the drake is peet, peet, and when standing sentinel while the female is busy with the nest, oe-eek, oe- eek. The food of these birds consists principally of acorns, seeds of wild oats, weed seeds and insects. Eagle. A few Bald Eagles still find their homes in 60 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. New Jersey, but they are becoming scarcer every year. Occasionally a number are seen in migrations. The Gold- en Eagle is merely an occasional straggler from the west and is seen very rarely. The Bald Eagle is nearly three feet in length and sometimes measures six or seven feet from tip to tip of wings; bill, two and a half inches. The general color of the plumage is a dark slate, the head, neck and tail being white and the bill yellow. The young birds lack the white head and tail. It nests in trees, the number of eggs being two or three, the color gray and the size three inches by two and one-fourth. Its food is principally fish, which it either picks up along the shores or takes away from some industrious fish-hawk or king- fisher; also small animals and carrion. The Golden Eagle is only a trifle smaller than the Bald Eagle; the general color of the plumage is a slate brown, with a yellowish tint on the head and some white at the base of the tail. Its nest is built on cliffs and rocky ledges; the eggs are two or three in number, gray with brown spots. The Golden Eagle can always be distinguished from the Bald by having the legs feathered all the way to the toes, while the latter has the lower part of the legs bare. Egret, White, or White or Snowy Heron. This most beautiful and elegant bird is little more than a remem- brance in New Jersey, the gun of the market hunter having almost exterminated it. Its long, drooping feathers have long been in demand for aigrettes. Formerly numbers of them were seen in the southern part of the state and per- haps a few breed there yet, but the demand for their feathers for millinery has almost exterminated them, even in the Southern Atlantic states, where they were former- ly very numerous. This bird is about two feet in length, its bill being three and a half inches long. Its plumage is of a pure white; the legs are black and the feet yellow. It builds a nest of sticks in bushes overhanging the water, the number of the eggs being three to five, the color a THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 61 dark blue and the size one and four-fifths by one and one- fii'th inches. They formerly bred in large colonies in the cedar swamps in the southern part of the state and occa- sionally a few are seen there yet in August and September. Their food consists of frogs, lizards, small fish and small water snakes, insects and seeds of the splatterdocks. Falcon. See Duck Hawk. Finch, Gold. See Gold Finch. Finch, Grass. See Vesper Sparrow. Finch, Pine, or Pine Siskin. This bird is five inches long and nine in extent; bill, two-fifths of an inch. The head and back are light brown, streaked with black; beneath, white, with a buff sulphur tint and streaked with black; tail, blackish, with the base sulphur yellow; wings, dark blackish, with margin of yellow and with base of quills yellow; legs and feet, brown. It builds its nest in the upper branches of evergreen trees; the nest is made of twigs and small roots, lined with plant down and hair. The eggs are two- thirds of an inch by half an inch in size, of a pale greenish blue, with brown spots; they are four in number. Its breeding location is in the northern part of the United States, extending southward along the tops of the mountains. It is an irregular visitant in New Jersey, from the middle of October to the middle of March; it is very erratic in its movements and at times appears in large flocks and again in company with the Goldfinch. Its song is similar to but less musical than that of the Goldfinch and seldom heard here. Its food is confined to seeds, preferring those of the black alder. Finch, Purple. Length, six and one fourth inches; extent, nine inches; bill, half an inch, brown in color; 62 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. the general plumage of the male adult is a raspberry red; back, duller; belly, grayish white; sides, gray, with dull red streaks; tail and wings, dark slaty brown, with red on the edges; legs, dark purplish flesh; feet, brown. The plumage of the female is wholly unlike that of the male, being of a dark grayish brown, with black streaks, the belly being white, with brown streaks. The young males resemble the female in plumage. The nest of this bird, almost invariably built in ever- green trees, is made of twigs and small roots and lined with hair; the eggs are four-fifths by half an inch in size, of a light blue with slate spots, and from four to six in number. The birds breed in New England and the Alleghanies and occur in New Jersey frequently in flocks from the first of October to the first of May, some going further south during severe winters. The song, frequently heard especially in large river valleys, is a very sweet warble. The food of the birds is confined almost wholly to buds and small berries; they are especially fond of cherry blossoms and in the spring frequent the elm trees along with the Goldfinches, feeding on the soft buds. Firebird. See Baltimore Oriole. Flicker, Golden-winged Woodpecker, Yellow- hammer, High-hole or Clape. Length, twelve inch- es; extent, twenty inches; bill, one and one-third inches; back, brown, transversely barred with black; head, gray, with a light red crescent on the hind neck; rump, white; throat and neck, pinkish cinnamon; breast, with a broad crescent-like patch of black; rest of under surface dull white, tinged with cinnamon and thickly marked with round black spots; wings and tail beneath golden yellow; tail above black, shafts yellow, and feathers at its base barred black and white; feet, bluish. The male may be THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 63 distinguished from the female by the presence of black stripes from the base of the bill. The nest is a hole dug in the trunks of dead trees and resembles that of the hairy woodpecker. Mating begins in April or May. The eggs are from six to eight in num- ber, of a pure white and one and one- tenth by four-fifths of an inch in size. The bird breeds and is distributed over the whole east- ern part of the United States as far west as the Eocky Mountains. Some winter in New Jersey; but most of them go south towards the end of October, returning to- wards the end of March. The song is termed by Audubon u a prolonged, jovial laugh, a cuh-cuh-cuh, wick -wick-wick," rapidly repeated The call is a nasal kee-yee. The food of this bird consists of beetles, bugs, caterpil- lars, ants, grasshoppers, corn, buckwheat, berries, fruit, poison ivy berries and sumac berries. Government analy- ses of 230 stomachs showed that these contained fifty- six per cent, of animal matter, bugs, etc., 39 per cent. vegetable matter and five per cent, of sand and mineral matter. Over forty per cent, of the food of these birds consists of ants, as high as three thousand each being found in several stomachs. Other stomachs contained from eighteen to forty-eight grasshoppers. Flycatcher, Mcadian. Length, five and three-quar- ter inches; extent, nine inches; bill, one third of an inch; above, uniform olive green ; wings and tail, brownish, the former edged with dull white; beneath, white tinged with olive; sides, yellowish; feet, dusky; bill dusky above, yellow beneath. Sexes alike. The nest is so shallow that the eggs can sometimes be seen from underneath; it is built of plant stems and grasses and frequently of blossoms of oak; it is generally found in the fork of a slender branch about six or eight feet from the ground. The eggs are three or four in num- 64: THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. ber, of a pinkish white, with a few brown spots near the large end and three-fourths by one-half an inch in size. The birds arrive from the south shortly after the first of May and return about the middle of September; they are scarce in northern New Jersey, but rather plentiful in the southern part of the state. Their cry is a spee-peet and at other times a heek-yup. The birds are strictly insec- tivorous, feading on insects of all kinds. Fly 'catcher , Crested, or Great Crested Flycatch- er. Length, eight and one-half inches; extent, thirteen inches; bill, three-fifths of an inch; above, olive, tinged with brown on the head; wings, dusky, edged with yel- lowish white, the longest feathers bordered with cinna- mon; tail, dusky brown, the inner webs of all but the middle feathers tawny cinnamon; throat and fore breast, gray; rest of under surface bright sulphur yellow; bill and feet, horn color. Sexes alike. The feathers of the head are elongated and can be erected into a crest, as is the case with most of the Flycatchers. The nest is built in the hollow of a tree or post and sometimes in an abandoned woodpecker hole, seldom higher than twenty feet from the ground; it is made of twigs, small roots, grasses, feathers, hairs, bristles and almost invariably of a piece of cast snake's skin. The eggs are from three to six in number, of a creamy white, streaked lengthwise with brown and purple, nine-tenths by seven-tenths of an inch in size. The birds come from the south to the eastern part of the United States about the first of May and leave about the first of September; they are far more common than the Acadian Flycatcher. Their cry is a harsh call or squeak, something like the Kingbird's. The birds feed almost exclusively on ground beetles in May and during the rest of the season devour large numbers of other insects; they also devour huckle- berries and a little fruit. Flycatcher, JLeast or Chebcc. Length, five inches; THE BIRDS OF XEW JERSEY. 65 extent, nine inches; bill, half an inch; above, brownish olive, darker on the head; wings and tail, dusky, the former edged with dull white; below, dull white, tinged with olive brown; belly, pale sulphur yellow; bill and feet, dusky. Sexes alike. This little bird is very similar to the Acadian Flycatcher, but may be distinguished by its smaller size and browner coloration. The nest, generally in a vertical crotch, is made of bark, fibres, small roots and hair, and lined with plant down. The eggs are from three to five in number, white in color and three-fifths by one-half inch in size. The birds ar- rive in the eastern United States from the south about the first of May and remain until the middle of Septem- ber. They frequent gardens and orchards and are far more numerous in the northern part of New Jersey than in the southern. Their note is chebec, chebec. Their food consists of insects, frequently caught on the wing, and bees and berries, huckleberries being preferred. Flycatcher^ Tyrant. See Kingbird. Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied. This bird is rare in New Jersey, occurring occasionally in the southern part of the state about the middle of May and again about the first part of September. Size, about the same as the Least. Above, bright olive green; wings dusky, bordered with yellowish ; tail, dusky; whole lower surface, bright sulphur yellow, breast with a darker olive tint. May be distinguished from either the Least or Acadian Flycatchers by the yellow and olive colors of the fore breast, which is nearly white in both these species. They breed in the north and spend the winter in the south, merely remaining in New Jersey long enough to rest and feed. Gad wall. See Gray Duck. Gallinulc. Florida. This bird passes over New 66 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. Jersey in its spring and fall migrations; it is a regular but rare visitant, occurring in New Jersey about the first of May and again in September and the first part of Oc- tober. It is thirteen and a half inches in length and the general color of its plumage is of a dark slate, with a suf- fusion of brown. Its bill is four-fifths of an inch in length and red in color. It has a bare bright red plate on the top of the head, extending half an inch between the eyes; belly, light gray; tail, slate on the upper surface and white underneath; legs, green. Its loud chuck is occa- sionally heard, but only on large rivers, which is fre- quents for food, this consisting of small animals, seeds and vegetable growths. Its flesh is considered excellent for the table. (jfitmiu. See English Sparrow. . This bird is extremely scarce in New Jersey, one being occasionally taken along the coast. They breed north of New Jersey and spend the winter in the south. The Gannet is about thirty-five inches in length and its plumage is white, with a suffusion of straw yellow, especially on the head; the larger wing feathers are of a dark slate. The birds generally appear in small straggling flocks, flying over the ocean in search of fish, which they take from the water. Gnatcatcher, Blue-Gray. This bird is very rare in New Jersey and has been found only in the southern part, where it breeds occasionally. Its nest is a beautiful lichen covered structure, closely resembling that of the Hum- mingbird, but larger. It frequents the highest branches of trees and is very shy. It is about four and a half inches in length; above, blue gray, with a jet black band across the nostrils, and a white edging to the innermost wing feathers. The under parts are a gray- white and the tail is black and white. The female lacks the black band over the nostrils. THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 67 Htidsonian. This bird is a rare transient visitor along the coast of New Jersey, a few being occa- sionally seen late in September. Length, fifteen inches; bill, three inches; back, dull brown, somewhat mottled with white; head, whitish, with dusky streaks; below, dull white or buffy. In summer the head, neck and under surface of body change to chestnut color. Grodwit, Marbled, or Brown Jfiarlin. This bird is a rare visitor along the coast of New Jersey, a few be- ing occasionally seen in May and then again in August and September. Length, seventeen to twenty inches; bill, three and one-half to five inches; above blackish brown, mottled with pale cinnamon or ochreous in spots and bars; long wing feathers brown on outer web, inner webs ochreous, finely speckled with brown; tail and under parts all transversely barred with pale cinnamon and dark brown; young birds are nearly uniform pale cinnamon below. Golden-eye, or Whisller. Length, twenty inches; bill, one and three quarter inches; head, ah 1 around glossy greenish black, large white spot on each side at the base of the bill; neck and entire under surface of the body, pure white; back, greenish black; wings, black; middle feathers white and stripe from shoulders white; tail, gray- ish black; female has the head brown, whole back gray, slightly mottled; male in winter similar to female. Its nest is built in a stump or hollow tree; the eggs are from six to ten in number, of a pale blue color and two and one-third by one and three-fourths inches in size. It breeds in Maine and northward, and in the winter goes as far south as Cuba and Mexico. In New Jersey it is found principally on the coast and on large rivers from the first of October to the first of April. It feeds principally on small fish and shell fish and its flesh is of a poor quality for the table. 6S THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. Goldfinch, Yellowbird, Thistle Bird or Wild Canary. Length, five inches; extent, eight inches; bill, two-fifths of an inch; body above and below, bright canary yellow; top of the head, wings and tail black, the latter with the inner webs of the feathers white; bill, red- dish brown; wings and shoulders in early summer banded with white. Female similar but duller in color; never bright yellow. In winter the body plumage is entirely changed. The bird is then brown above and dull white below, with more or less yellow tints on the head and throat of the male and prominent white edgings to wing and tail. During the spring moult, when the change of plumage occurs, the birds are curiously speckled. The nest is built from five to thirty feet from the ground in the crotch of a tree or bush; it is a neat con- trivance, made of fine grasses, bark and moss, lined with thistle-down. Mating begins in June. The eggs are from three to six in number, of a pale blue white, and three-fifths by one-half an inch in size. The bird is distributed all over the United States, but is scarcer in winter in the northern parts. It is very plen- tiful in New Jersey. Its song lasts until August and is very much like the canary, the call note being Jeer chic-chic-chic-a wee-wee- wee. The food of the bird consists of the seeds of trees and bushes or almost any seed-bearing plant; it is particularly fond of sunflowers and clematis and in the spring of the year is frequently seen in large numbers feeding on the young pods of the elm trees. Goosander. See American Merganser. Goose, Canada,or Common Wild Goose. Length, thirty-five to forty inches; bill, two inches; head and neck, black, with a large white band across the throat, reaching from ear to ear; back and upper side of wings, slate gray; feathers with lighter edges; below, pale gray- THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 69 ish white, slightly mottled on the sides; long wing feath- ers and tail, dusky. Sexes alike. Its breeding location is in the north ; it appears in New Jersey shortly after the first of October; large numbers continue on their flight further south, generally passing over the interior part of the state ; considerable numbers, however, remain all winter, not leaving until the latter part of April. Their food while here is composed princi- pally of sea cabbage and the roots of sedge. Goose, Greater Snow. Size the same as the Canada Goose; plumage everywhere pure white; except the long wing feathers, which are black; bill and feet, red. Young birds are more or less mottled with gray, especially on the upper parts. There is often a rusty stain on the feathers of the head. It is very seldom seen in New Jersey pass- ing over the state at times in the annual migration from Greenland to the south and return. Greenback. See Golden Plover. Grackle^ Bronzed, or Croiv Blackbird. This bird is seen in New Jersey only in migrations, and is very closely related to the following, in the description of which the distinguishing points are given. Grackle, Purple, or Crow Blackbird. Length, twelve inches; extent, eighteen inches; bill, one and one- fifth inches. When seen at a distance this bird appears plain black, but at reasonably close range its plumage is at once seen to be resplendent with metallic hues of green, blue and purple. There is great individual variation in color and one style grades gradually into another. The head, neck and breast are generally uniform, either metallic, green, blue or red-purple, while the back and lower breast are generally mottled with all three tints; the rump is bronze and the wings and tail purplish. The Bronzed Grackle, a very closely related bird, has the TO THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. entire body plumage metallic bronze except the head, neck and forebreast, which are blue or purple. The fe- male Grackle is much duller than the male. The young during their first summer have scarcely a trace of metallic coloring, being uniform dull black. The nest is built about thirty feet up a tree, although also sometimes found in a bush or in a hole in a tree. It is bulky but very compactly built of coarse grasses, lined with finer grasses. The eggs are from three to six in number, one and one-fifth by four-fifths of an inch in size, very variable, but generally a pale blue or a blue green, with brown and black scrawls; different sets in the same colony are frequently very unlike. The birds breed on the Atlantic slope, generally in col- onies, from Georgia to Massachusetts. The winter is spent in the south, very few remaining here after the first of November; they arrive here early in March. Their cry is a wheezy squeak and their call a rasping chirp. These birds do a great deal of mischief in cornfields, but partly make up for the injury they do by destroying rose bugs, curculio, May beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and locusts. Grebe, MIolboeWs.This is the largest of the Grebes and is very seldom seen in New Jersey, occurring occa- sionally during migrations. It is nineteen inches in length; bill, two inches; the upper parts are of a dull black and the under of a silvery white, generally with more or less rusty red on the neck, except in young birds. Grebes nest among the rushes and reeds, and the nest, composed of a mass of decayed vegetation, is frequently seen floating in the water. Grebe, Horned. Length, thirteen inches; bill, three- quarters of an inch; above, glossy black, tinged with gray; head with tufts of feathers which project on each side THE BIRDS OP NEW JERSEY. 71 like a hood, glossy, greenish black, a stripe on each side of the head passing through the eye, reddish buff; under parts, silky white; neck, breast and sides of body, reddish chestnut; young birds are plain, dull black above and silky white below. It is somewhat more numerous in New Jersey than the preceding, especially during migra- tions, occurring from November until May. Grebe, Pied-billed, Dabchick, Diedapper, Hell- Diver or Water Witch. This is the most common of the Grebes, remaining in New Jersey for fully nine months in the year; from its appearance at a distance and its habits it is frequently mistaken for a duck and in fact in a few places it is referred to as the Hen-bill Duck. It is a little over thirteen inches in length. It obtains one of its names from the fact that the bill, about nine- tenths of an inch in length, is shaped like that of a chicken; it is dull white in color, crossed with a black band. Its throat is black; back, glossy black; under parts, silky white, mottled with brown and black; fore breast, rusty brown and black; wings, brown, slightly tipped with white. Tail represented by a few soft, downy feathers, scarcely perceptible. The nest is built like that of HolboelTs Grebe; the float- ing mass is held together by mud and moss and the eggs are frequently concealed by a thin layer of similar muck. The eggs are from four to eight in number, of a dirty white, one and three-fourths by one and one-fifth inches in size. It breeds throughout the whole of North America, with the exception of the extreme north and south, going as far south as South America during the winter. Some re- main in New Jersey throughout the whole year, but it is not a common breeder. Its food consists of frogs, insects, lizards and the seeds of grasses. Grosbeak, Cardinal. See Cardinal Bird. 72 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. Grosbeak, Rose-breasted. Length, eight and one- half inches; extent, thirteen inches. Above, jet black, ex- cept the rump, which is white; wings, black barred and tipped with white; tail, black, the three outer feathers with the inner webs largely white; side of head and fore- neck, black; breast, brilliant rosy pink; rest of under sur- face, white; underneath the wing a patch of rose pink feathers. Younger birds have more or less dull brown feathers in the wing and tail. In autumn the plumage is quite different. The bird then appears brown above, streaked with black; wings barred and tipped with white, and dull white line over the eye; below, buff, speckled with black, with throat and breast more or less suffused with pink, and pink feathers under the wing. The fe- male at all seasons resembles the autumn plumage just described, but has less buff beneath and no pink; beneath the wing the feathers are yellow. The bill is very thick and nearly pure white in the spring male, more dusky in the female; legs and feet, blue gray. The nest is found in bushes or trees, from five to twenty feet from the ground. It is a perfect circle, made of fine twigs, weeds and roots, and lined with the same but of a finer quality. The eggs are from four to five in number, nine-tenths by seven-tenths of an inch in size, and of a pale blue with olive-brown markings. It breeds in the northern part of the United States and in Canada, but is found during the summer only in the northern portion of New Jersey; migrants arrive in the state during the first part of May and those that go further north return in September. The song is frequently heard towards evening and is a delightful warble, somewhat resembling the robin's, but more exquisitely pure. Its fondness for potato-bugs has earned for it in some localities the name of Potato-bug Bird, but it also de- stroys beetles, bugs and larvae. Its vegetable food con- THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 73 sists of the buds of the hickory, beech and birch, and also fruit blossoms. Grouse, RufTed^Partridge or Pheasant. Length, eighteen inches; extent, twenty -three inches; bill, half an inch, horn color. Plumage above, reddish brown, most of the feathers with buff central stripes and finely mottled with black and gray; neck with a tuft of broad ended black feathers which project beyond the rest of the plum- age and are erectile at will; upper surface of wings like the back, the long outer feathers dull brown, with light spots on their edges; tail, rusty brown, transversely mottled with black, and with broad terminal black and gray bands; under surface, white, becoming buff on the breast and throat, and transversely barred with brown, except on the throat and center of the body ; flanks, with broad black bars. Female similar, but with the neck tufts rudimentary or wanting. In southern New Jersey this bird is commonly called a pheasant, while the name partridge prevails in the northern part of the state. The nest is built in April of leaves and grass on the ground, in underbrush or at the base of the stump of a tree or the side of a log. The eggs are from eight to fourteen in number, of a pale brownish yellow, one and a half by one and one-tenth inches in size. The birds breed in the eastern United States as far south as Georgia and remain all the year. The male is in the habit of drumming on logs and fall- en trees and the cry of the bird is a rup-rup-rup-rup-r-r r-r-r. The food of the birds consists of berries and insects, principally ants; in the fall, also seeds and chestnuts; in the winter leaves, and in the spring buds. Gull, Black-Headed. See Laughing Gull.