THE BIRDS KNOWN TO BREED WITHIN FIFTY MILES 

 OF NEW YORK CITY. 



I. (6.) ^ Pied-billed Grebe {Podilynihiis podiceps). Local status: Chiefly 

 a migrant, sometimes winiering and probably breeding rarely. Eggs: 6-10, 

 soiled whitish. Date: No definite record. Group, Hall No. 208. 



2. (58.) Laughing Gull {Larus atricilla). Local status: An uncominon 

 migrant and rare summer resident, nesting now, if at all, in a few localities on 

 Great South Bay. Site: Salt marshes. Eggs: 3-5, grayish olive-brown or 

 greenish gray, spotted, blotched and scrawled with chocolate. Date: June 8. 

 Group, Hall No. 20S. 



3. (70.) Common Tern; Sea Swallo^v; Mackerel Gull (Sterjia hirnndo). 

 Local status: Formerly an abundant summer resident, but since its destruction 

 by milliners a comparatively uncommon migrant. It is doubtful if it nests 

 nearer than Gardiner's Island. Site: Beaches and sometimes adjoining up- 

 lands. Eggs: 2-3, very variable, usually olive-gray or oli^•e-green marked with 

 chocolate. Date: May 8. Group, Hall No. 308. 



4. (133-) Black Duck (Anas ohscura). Local status: A cominon migrant 

 and winter visitant; not known to nest nearer than Gardiner's Island. Site: 

 On the ground, in undergrowth or heavy grasses, not necessarily in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of water. Eggs: 8-12, pale greenish or bluish white or creamy. 

 Date: May 5. Group, Hall No. 208. 



5. (144.) Wood Duck (Aix sponsa). Local status: A not uncommon 

 migrant; rare and local in the summer. Site: A hollow in a tree, usually 

 twenty feet or more from the ground. Eggs: 8-14, pale buffy white. Date: 

 May 6. 



6. (190.) Bittern {Botaurus lentiginosus) . Local status: Not uncommon 

 migrant; rare summer resident. Site: On the ground in grassy marshes. 

 Eggs: 3-5, pale olive-bufT. Date: May 10. 



7. (191.) Least Bittern {Ardetta exilis). Local status: Rather rare and 

 local summer resident, more common and generally distributed during migra- 

 tions. Site: Reedy marshes, usually 2-4 feet above water. Eggs: 4-6, bluish 

 white. Date: May 31. 



8. (201.) Little Green Heron (Butorides vtrescens). Local status: Com- 

 mon summer resident. Site: Bushes or trees from 5-20 feet from the ground. 

 Eggs: 4-5, pale, dull blue. Date: May 6. 



9. (202.) Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax mwius). 

 Local status: Locally abundant summer resident, nesting in colonies. Site: 

 In trees 20-80 feet from the ground. Eggs: 4-6, pale, dull blue. Date: May i. 



10. (208.) Kinx Rail (Rallus elegans) . Lora/ 5ta<«5.- Rare summer resident. 

 Site: On the ground in grassy fresh-water marshes. Eggs: 7-12, bufify white, 

 heavily spotted and speckled with rufous-brown. Date: May 15. 



II. (211.) Clapper Rail; Mud Hen (Rallus crepitans). Local status: 



^ The numbers between parentheses refer to the Check-List of North American 

 Birds of the American Ornithologists Union. 



15 



