52 THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 



Dove, Sea. See Little Auk. 

 Dovekie. See Little Auk. 



Dowitcher^ or IZed-Breasted Snipe. Length, ten 

 and a half inches; extent, eighteen inches; bill, two and 

 a quarter inches. This bird has a mottled appearance on 

 account of its being spotted with black ; the back is black, 

 barred with light buff, the under parts reddish buff, spotted 

 with round black dots; the long wing feathers are black, 

 tail barred "with black and white. In winter it is much 

 grayer above and white beneath, streaked with dusky on 

 the neck. It breeds in the far north and spends the 

 winter in Florida, Mexico and South America. It ar- 

 rives in New Jersey during the latter part of May and 

 again during the latter part of July. Its eggs are four in 

 number, of a light brown, spotted with deep brown, and 

 one and three-fifths inches by one and one- tenth in size. 

 In winter the plumage changes to a brownish gray. 



The long-billed or Western Dowitcher is occasionally 

 seen in small numbers in company with the foregoing; it 

 has a longer bill and its plumage is considerably darker. 

 It is very similar to the Dowitcher but very much rarer. 



Duck, Rlach\ or Dusky Duck. Length, twenty- 

 two inches; extent, thirty- three inches; bill, two and one- 

 fifth inches. The general coloration above is a deep dusky, 

 slightly tipped with buff. The bill is greenish yellow; 

 below the body is streaked with dusty brown and cinna- 

 mon; the tail sooty brown, the upper wing sooty 

 brown and the legs and feet yellowish red. In the 

 female there is more brown. The nest is a mat of 

 marsh grass built on the ground, the eggs being 

 from eight to twelve in number, of a light greenish 

 or bluish yellow, two and a half by one and three- 

 fourths inches in size. It breeds in the Middle States 

 as far north as Hudson's Bay; it arrives in New Jersey 

 during the latter part of October and remains un- 



