144 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 



and Mr. Fowler 1 was informed that it was common on the Upper 

 Delaware in 1870. One was shot there also in 1895, and several at 

 League Island on the Delaware September 30th, 1904. 2 



273 Oxyechus vociferus (Linnaeus). 

 Killdeer. 



PLATE 24. 



Adults. Length, 10-11.25. Wing, 6.25-6.75. Above, grayish-brown, with 

 a slight bronze gloss; rump, rufous buff; forehead crossed by a white and 

 black bar ; a dusky streak from the bill under the eye ; throat and collar all 

 around the neck, white, followed by a complete black collar, and this at a short 

 interval by a black breast band ; rest of under parts, white ; wing feathers 

 marked with white, tail feathers tipped with white and with a subterminal 

 black bar (obscure on middle pair) ; outer ones largely white and buff, barred 

 on inner web with black. 



Nest a hollow, often with small stones as a flooring; eggs, three to four, 

 nearly white, with very dark brown markings. 



Tolerably common migrant and local summer resident in the south- 

 ern half of the State; apparently much rarer in the northern coun- 

 ties. In the southern part of the State it also occasionally winters 

 Atlantic City, 1905-6 (G. S. Morris) f Salem county (Rhoads) ; Five 

 Mile Beach (Laurent). 4 



It usually arrives March 20th, stragglers appearing in February, 

 and departs by October 25th. 



Mr. W. C. Southwick 5 saw one at Raritan February 22d, 1892, a 

 remarkably early date for that vicinity, and one was found at Nave- 

 sink December 15th, 1888, after the unusual flight of birds that were 

 apparently blown north by the remarkable hurricane that prevailed 

 at that time. 6 



The Killdeer breeds at Princeton (Babson), Plainfield (Miller), 

 Medford (Stone), Salem (Crispin), and near Pennsgrove (Stone), 

 and is given by Thurber as a breeder near Morristown. Mr. S. "N. 

 Rhoads saw two June llth, 1909, in the Wallkill valley, Sussex county. 



A familiar bird of old fields, where it may be seen running grace- 



1 Cassinia, 1903, p. 53. 



2 Cassinia, 1904, p. 55. 

 8 Cassinia, 1906, p. 59. 



4 O. and O., 1892, p. 53. 



6 Abst. Proc. Linn. Soc., N. Y., V., p. 2. 



6 Chadbourne, Auk, 1889, p. 255. 



