KoHi.ER — Birds of Esskx Coitnty. 187 



PRELIMINARY LIST OF THE BIRDS OF ESSEX 

 COl ^\T Y, , X EW J ERSE Y. 



RV LOUIS S. KOHLliR. 



Essex. Xew Jersey's most populous county, is located in the 

 north-east central portion of the Garden State. Topographi- 

 cally the entire county gradually rises from the Passaic River, 

 its eastern boundry, westward to the first and second ranges of 

 the Orange Mountains, and beyond these low lying hills it 

 slightly declines to the Passsic River again which also forms 

 the western and half of the northern boundaries. At the 

 extreme northern end of the county there is located an im- 

 mense tract of marsh land which is known as the Great Piece 

 Meadows. To this latter section the local observer must look 

 to find the representatives of the gulls and ducks and such 

 other water birds which are present during their seasons, as 

 there are but three small ponds and two or three small brooks 

 in the whole county and these are not often visited by the 

 water birds 



The greater part of the territory here not occupied by the 

 residential and farming districts, is covered by virgin frowths 

 of deciduous timber with one or two small copses of the con- 

 iferous appearing in the Orange Hills. 



The faunal areas represented are principally Alleghanian 

 and Carolinian. Occasionally Hudsonian and Canadian species 

 visit us but their stays are usually limited. The following list 

 is compiled from observations made by the writer from Janu- 

 ary 1002 to the present time and only includes those species to 

 which no doubt may be attached as to their legibility of their 

 being considered in the compilation : 



(1) Rissa tridactyla. — Kittiwake. Kare migrant. A flock of 

 twelve were seen migrating over luirtliern Bloomfield on February 

 22, 1903. The birds alighted for a few moments on Davey's Pond 

 and I obtained an excellent view of same and positively determined 

 their identity. This is the only record 1 have of this l)ird in this 

 county. 



