THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. Ill 



RliOiuU, is the northern limit/ while Mr. Crispin tells rne they do not 

 reach Salem. 



They occur from the middle of March to the middle of November, 

 and are occasionally found in midwinter at Atlantic City (DeHaven) 

 and at Five Mile Beach (Laurent).- Full sets of eggs may be found 

 from j\Iay 25th to June 10th and later, when the first nest has been 

 destroyed. 



Wilson, writing in 1813, states that "about June 1st the people of 

 the neighborhood go off on the marshes an egging, as it is called. So 

 abundant are the nests of this species, and so dextrous some persons 

 at finding them, that 100 dozen of eggs have been collected by one 

 man in a day,'" and "B. B." records piirchasing over seven hundred 

 in market for exchange specimens.^ Fortunately this practice, which 

 threatened the extinction of the bird, is now unlawful. 



Through the summer they are inconspicuous, searching for food 

 along the bottoms of the little sloughs and thoroughfares, and build- 

 ing their nests on the higher parts of the marshes among the taller 

 grass. At sunset they may be heard uttering their peculiar cackle, 

 and can often be induced to show themselves by imitating the call. 

 They run rat-like through the grass, dodging this way and that 

 with great agility when pursued. 



In the autumn they are shot in large numbers, and when the high 

 autumnal tides flood the meadows, as they sometimes do, and the 

 Mudhens are forced to swim or to gather on the islands that here and 

 there stand above the water, the slaughter is a disgrace to those who 

 call themselves sportsmen. 



212 Rallus virginianus Linnaeus. 

 Virginia Rail. 



Adults. — Length. 8.25-10.50. Wing, 4— 1.25. Colors almost exactly like the 

 King Kail. Differs in its smaller size. 



YoutKj in first autumn. — Middle of abdomen, white, with scattered black 

 feathers all over the under surface. 



Nest and eggs. — Similar to those of the King Kail, except in size, 1.25 x .90. 



Rather common summer resident, occurring April loth to October 

 1st. Breeds all alonsr the Delaware meadows from the fresh or 



' Cassinia, 1901, p. 51. 



= O. and O., 1892, p. 53. 



'■' O. and O., 1883, pp. 39^0. 



