THE BIRDS OF NEW JERSEY. 201 



states, the West Indies and southward to Central 

 America. 



Of its song Mr. Frank M. Chapman (Handbook of Birds 

 of Eastern North America, Appleton & Co.) says: "As a 

 songster the Water Thrush is without a rival. His song 

 is not to be compared with the clear-voiced carol of the 

 Rose-breasted Grosbeak, the plaintive chant of the Field 

 Sparrow, or the hymnlike melody of the true Thrushes; 

 it is of a different kind. It is the untamable spirit of the 

 bird rendered in music. There is an almost fierce wild- 

 ness in its ringing notes. On rare occasions he is inspired 

 to voice his passion in a flight-song, which so far exceeds 

 his usual performance that even the memory of it is thril- 

 ling." 



W*ater Wagtail. — See Water Thrush. 

 Water Witch. See Pied-billed Grebe. 



ff* hip-poor-will. — Length, nine and a half inches; 

 extent, nineteen inches; biU, one-third of an inch, dusky, 

 bent a little at the point, bristles at the base very long, 

 exceeding the tip of the bill by three-quarters of an inch. 

 The plumage above is variegated with black, pale cream, 

 brown and rust color, sprinkled and powdered with min- 

 ute streaks and spots; the upper part of the head is a light 

 brownish gray, marked with a central streak of black 

 with others radiating from it; the tail is rounded, black, 

 irregularly barred and mottled with whitish gray or 

 cream ; the three outer ones with the terminal third white 

 in the male; the wings are dark brown, barred on the outer 

 webs with rusty; anarrow semi-circle of white passes across 

 the throat; the breast and belly are irregularly mottled 

 and streaked with black and yellow ochre; the legs and 

 feet are of a light flesh-color, seamed with white. The 

 female is about an inch less in length, and the bar across 

 the throat is a brownish ochre; the cheeks are a brighter 

 brownish orange and the streak over the eye is lighter. 



