THE BIRDS OP NEW JERSEY. 107 



their prey to considerable depths. They are great favor- 

 ites with the inhabitants of the coast and, being quite in- 

 offensive as well as attractive, well merit the protection 

 which is accorded them in several of the seaboard coun- 

 ties of the state. 



Ovenbird, or Golden-crowned Thrush. — Length, 

 six and one-fifth inches; extent, nine inches; bill, one- 

 third of an inch, brown. The upper parts, the wings and 

 the tail are olive-green; the head marked by two longitu- 

 dinal black stripes, between which the feathers are duU 

 brownish orange; the under parts are white; the breast, 

 the sides and the sides of the throat streaked with black; 

 legs and feet, flesh-colored. 



The nest is a bulky contrivance, hut-like, with the en- 

 trance from one side and very difficult to find. It is built 

 on the ground of stalks, weeds, grasses and leaves. The 

 eggs are either four or five in number, white with brown 

 spots, three-fourths by three- fifths of an inch in size; 

 there are two broods a year. 



The birds breed in New Jersey and from here north- 

 ward to Hudson's Bay, and spend the winter in Florida 

 and further south. They are very plentiful in New 

 Jersey, especially in the mountains and in the pine bar- 

 rens of the southern part of the state. 



They have a song very intricate and melodious, but 

 seldom heard and a regular familiar call, generally com- 

 pared to the word teacher, several times repeated and 

 each time on an ascending scale. 



The food of the bird consists of small bugs and the lar- 

 vae of insects which it gathers from the ground. 



Ouvl^ tficadian. See Saw-whet Owl. 



Owl, Barn, or tlflonkey-faced Owl. — Length, four- 

 teen inches; extent, three and a half feet. The bill is of a 

 whitish-horn color, one and one-fourth -inches in length; 

 space surroiinding each eye remarkably concave, the ra- 



