96 THE BIRDS OF NfiW JERSEY. 



far south as the Carolinas, and are frequently seen in 

 large flocks, especially along the coast. They spend the 

 warm weather in the north. 



They feed on the seeds of weeds, such as pigweed, bit- 

 terweed, sorrel, etc., and frequently the eggs and lar- 

 vae of insects; in the spring they frequently destroy re- 

 cently planted wheat and oats. 



IdUrk^ Prairie Morned.—'PaleT and a little smaller 

 than the preceding, with white forehead and white line 

 over the eye. It is occasionally seen in the winter associ- 

 ated with the preceding, but breeds much farther south, 

 having been found nesting in New York and northern 

 Pennsylvania. 



Liark^ Shore. See Horned Lark. 



X^eaaback. See Eed-backed Sandpiper. 



JLinnet^ Red-poll. See Eed-poll. 



Iiittle Blackhead. See Lesser Scaup. 



Mjittle BluehiU. — See lesser Scaup. 



Iioon. — Length, thirty-two inches; extent, four feet, 

 six inches; bill, a dark yellowish green, two and three- 

 fourths inches in length; head and neck, greenish black, 

 a patch of fine black and white stripes on the sides of the 

 latter; back, tail and wings, black, with green reflections, 

 the back and wings being spotted with square white spots 

 arranged in rows; sides of the neck, streaked white and 

 black; breast and belly, white; legs and feet, black and 

 lead; adult in winter and young birds, sooty gray above, 

 feathers of the back all edged with light gray; belly, 

 white; sides of the neck, streaked with gray. 



The nest of the Loon is a mere depression in the ground 

 and is invariably found near water. The eggs are two in 



