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 yellowish 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 2)eef, 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. 



£agic.—A few Bald Eagles still find their homes in 



