THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 81 



The Pigeon Hawk is in appearance a miniature of the 

 Duck Hawk. It occurs in New Jersey during the mi- 

 grations and in winter, but breeds farther north. Though 

 not very generally distributed, it is sometimes quite com- 

 mon along the coast. 



. Night, JYight-Jar or It nil-bat. Length, 

 nine and a half inches; extent, twenty-three inches; the 

 female is a trifle smaller; the upper parts are of a very 

 deep blackish brown, thickly speckled or powdered on 

 the back and head with innumerable minute spots and 

 streaks of a pale cream color, interspersed with specks of 

 reddish; the tail is barred with the same for about two- 

 thirds of its length, the terminal third being black, with 

 a broad white band about three-quarters of an inch from 

 the tip, the two middle, however, lack the white bar 

 near the tips; a triangular spot of white marks the throat; 

 the bill is small, less than a fourth of an inch in length, 

 and of a black color; the mouth, however, is very large 

 and the gape reaches back below the eye; the legs are 

 very short, and of a purplish flesh color, seamed with 

 white; the claw of the middle toe is long and peculiarly 

 serrated; the whole lower parts of the body are marked with 

 transverse lines of dusky and yellowish; the wings are 

 dark brown with a broad bar of white across the five 

 outer feathers; they are very long and slender and when 

 closed reach beyond the tip of the tail. The female dif- 

 fers in having no white band on the tail, while the tri- 

 angular spot of white on the throat is replaced by a dully 

 defined mark of a reddish cream color. During the day- 

 time these birds roost lengthwise on a limb, instead of 

 crosswise as most birds do. They are easily recognized 

 at sunset or at night by their erratic flight. 



The Night Hawk builds no nest whatever, simply deposit- 

 ing, about the middle of May, its eggs on the bare ground 

 or on a rock, in the open field, occasionally on the roof of 

 a house. The eggs are two in number, of a dirty bluish 



