Among the marshes are many wading birds. One of those not often seen but often heard is the 

 Least Bittern, which raises its gawky youngsters in the reed beds. 



tank-shaped animals come mincing out of the depths on their 

 array of two-fingered feet, to the shoal beaches of this coast. 

 There the little males meet the much larger females, to whom 

 they attach themselves for an extended period in the shallowest 

 water possible. The eggs, which are laid in huge masses, are 

 tiny, spherical, black things, and are deposited in clusters just at 

 low-tide level among gravel or on mud flats. From these hatch 

 minute ovale creatures that do not look at all like their parents: 

 in fact, they look very much like those most ancient of all 

 arthropods called the trilobites, and they behave accordingly, 

 going to the bottom and clinging to things, all facing into the 

 prevailing tidal stream or current. These tiny larvae are tailless 

 and go through several stages of different shapes before develop- 

 ing into the adult form. The countless tons of eggs laid by these 

 animals every spring along the shores of this province are a 

 great attraction to birds, which are plentiful enough in any case. 

 The birds congregate in such vast numbers to feed upon the 

 eggs that one wonders how the Horseshoe Crab has combatted 

 extinction for so long. 



Many land, shore, and sea birds are always to be seen on 

 this coast. The little Fish Crow is very prevalent, squawking and 

 clearing up messes on beaches, in marshes, and even on the dry 

 sandy barrens where there are hosts of small mammals and a 

 plethora of amphibians that, dead or alive, make fine food for 

 these birds. Frogs abound because of the marshes, which are 

 filled with Peepers and Bullfrogs, and there are also arboreal 

 species such as the beautiful Anderson's Tree Frog on the New 

 Jersey barrens. Red-winged Blackbirds are typical denizens of 

 the reed marshes, perching audaciously on the wind-blown 

 stems. Catbirds are very numerous too. and the somewhat over- 

 balanced-looking Brown Thrasher makes the drier ridges its 

 home. The woodpecker known as the Flicker is very common 

 and is here almost entirely a ground-feeding creature. Robins 

 are everywhere, even on the beaches. The Common Starling has 

 now invaded this territory too, as it has almost all others, and it 

 may be seen in the spring tramping about in great armies, 

 stabbing at the larvae of the noxious Japanese Beetle — a trait 

 that has gone far to compensate for its overfecundity and its 



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