484 



ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



unfrequently under a bush. It is carelessly formed of dry 

 plants of various kinds, and is of a large size, flat, and 

 raised to the height of several inches. The eggs are usually 



about six in number : they average three and a half inches 

 by two and a half, are thick-shelled, rather smooth, and of 

 a very dull yellowish-green color. The period of incuba- 

 tion is twenty-eight days. Wilson says of this bird : — 



" Their first arrival on the coast of New Jersey is early in Octo- 

 ber ; and their first numerous appearance is the sure prognostic 

 of severe weather. Those which continue all winter frequent the 

 shallow bays and marsh islands : their principal food being the broad, 

 tender, green leaves of a marine plant which grows on stones and 

 shells, and is usually called sea-cabbage ; and also the roots of the 

 sedge, which they are frequently observed in the act of tearing up. 

 Every few days, they make an excursion to the inlets on the beach 

 for gravel. They cross, indiscriminately, over land or water, gen- 

 erally taking the nearest course to their object ; differing, in this 

 respect, from the Brant, which will often go a great way round by 

 water, rather than cross over the land. They swim well ; and, if 

 wing-broken, dive, and go a long way under water, causing the 



