83 

 SAND MAKTIX— BANK SWALLOW. 



Upper parts brownish gray; throat white; a brownish gray band on the 

 breast. A small tuft of feathers above hmd toe. 



L., 5.20; W., 4.00; T., 2.00 



Nest, in a hole in a sand bank; these birds usually nest in colonies. Eggs, 

 four to six, white. 



EOUGH-WINGED SWALLOW. 



Upper parts brownish gray; throat and breast pale brownish gray; belly white; 

 outer web of first primary with a series of recurved booklets; no tuft of feathers 

 above the hind toe. 



L., 5.75; W., 4.35; T., 2.10. 



Nest, usually in holes under bridges, or in sand banks. Eggs, four to six, 



white. 



NIGHTHAWKS. 



All the Swallow tribe gather their food during the day, and the hotter and* 

 •brighter it is the more active they seem to be; the Chimney Swift's period of 

 greatest activity is the early morning and late evening. The Nighthawk and 

 Whip-poor-will commence their work at dusk and keep it up till sunrise. Their 

 food consists, for the most part, of the large night-flying moths and beetles. On 

 one occasion, however, I found the stomach of a Whip-poor-will filled with the 

 large female wingless ants, which could only have been obtained from the ground, 

 and in all probability in the day time. The common June bug is a favorite article 

 of food with both these birds, and as this is a very destructive insect, both in its 

 larval and mature stages, the birds are entitled to our best consideration for the 

 good work they do in lessening its numbers. 



Since writing the above I have found that the large black ant referred to, is 

 active at night as well as through the day and therefore the Whip-poor-will probably 

 captured them during its ordinary feeding time. Where these insects occur 

 abundantly they become an intolerable nuisance, working their way into houses, 

 they swarm over provisions of all kinds and render them distasteful. They also 

 have a habit of forming their nests under the shingles of a roof, and when they do 

 so, leakages quickly follow and repairs are constantly required. When established 

 in a roof it is almost impossible to dislodge them without tearing out the whole 

 fabric. Any bird that assists in keeping these ants in check will always be con- 

 sidered a benefactor by those who have suffered from their ravages. 



NIGHTHAWKS. 



Description. 



WHIP-POOR-WILL 



Adult male. Upper parts dark brownish gray, streaked and mottled with 

 brownish-black and buffy; primaries dusky black, with broken rufous bars: 

 four middle tail feathers, like those of the back, the three lateral ones white iii 

 their terminal half; throat and breast, similar to the back, with a transverse ban.l 

 of white on the foreneck : rest of the lower parts paler than above and mottled, or 

 barred with blackish. 



