THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 87 



twenty-six inches, extent, four feet; head, greenish black, 

 except a small white patch across the forehead; from the 

 back of the head come several long thread-like white 

 feathers, six or eight inches long, which hang down over 

 the neck; back and innermost wing feathers, dark bottle 

 green; wings, rump and tail, ashy gray; entire neck and 

 under surface light gray, varying to white on the throat, 

 legs, yellowish green; bill, black, two inches and three- 

 quarters long; female indistinguishable from male. 

 Young birds are entirely different. Plumage, above, 

 brown streaked with blackish and rufous buff; tail, gray; 

 wings, grayish brown, with rusty edgings and buff spots; 

 Under parts streaked longitudinally with brown, white 

 and buff. 



The nest is built in the tops of trees, being a large con- 

 trivance made of sticks; the eggs are from four to five in 

 number, of a dull blue, two inches by one and three- fifths 

 in size. The birds breed in the whole of North America, 

 the extreme north excepted. In winter they migrate 

 south to the Middle States. They arrive in New Jersey 

 about the end of April and leave about the middle of 

 October; they are generally found in the marshes and on 

 the rivers inland and are scarce on the coast. 



The name of the Qua-bird is derived from an unpleas- 

 ant noise they make greatly resembling retching. 



They depend almost wholly on small fish for food and 

 feed at night. 



Heron, Snowy. See White Egret. 

 High-hole. See Flicker. 

 Hoodlum. See English Sparrow. 



* Ruby-lhroated. Length, three 

 and a half inches; extent, four and a quarter inches; bill, 

 three fourths of an inch. The whole back, upper parts 

 of the neck and sides under the wings are of a rich metal- 



