612 SWALLOW TRIBE. 



NIGHT-HAWKS. (Caprimulgus. L.) 



With the BILL extremely short, feeble, and cleft beyond the eyes; 

 upper mandible almost always surrounded with spreading bristles, 

 and somewhat hooked at the tip, the margin turned outward. Nos- 

 trils basal, wide, partly closed by a feathered membrane, and leav- 

 ing usually a tubular opening. Tongue small, acute, and entire. 

 Feci, tarsi partly feathered, the anterior toes united by a small mem- 

 brane to the 1st articulation ; the hind toe reversible. Kails very 

 short, beneath channeled. Wings long, the Istprimar}'^ shorter than 

 the 2d and 3d, which are longest. Tail of 10 feathess. — Female 

 easily distinguishable from the male ; but the young similar with the 

 adult. They moult once or twice in the year ; and the plumage is of 

 dull and very blended colors. 



These are solitary, shy, and sylvan birds, flying rapidly in the 

 twilight and night, when their vision is more acute. Except in 

 cloudy weather, they remain concealed by day, like Owls ; and in 

 consequence of the softness of their feathers, their flight is nearly si- 

 lent. They hunt for moths with the mouth extended open. They 

 remain constantly paired, and in the breeding season flutter their 

 wings like Pigeons. They lay one or two large eggs on the ground, 

 without nest, and rarely in a hollow tree, or in the cleft of a rock. 

 The voice is unpleasant, quaint, and monotonous. They sometimes 

 also utter a booming sound in flight, usually at the moment of rapidly 

 descending in their aerial gj^rations. Thej^ inhabit all parts of the 

 globe, but abound in the warmer parts of America. 



' CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW.' 



{Caprimulgtis carolinensis, Gm. Wilson, vi. p. 95. pi, 54. fig. 2. 

 AuD. pi. 52. Orn. i. p. 273. Phil. Museum, No. 7723.) 



Sp. Charact. — Bristles of the mouth shorter than the bill ; tail 

 rounded, reaching an inch beyond the wings ; 3 outer tail-feath- 

 ers white on the inner web at tip. Length 12 inches. — Female, 

 with the tip of the 3 outer tail-feathers dark ochreous. 



The Carolina Goatsucker is seldom seen to the north 

 of Virginia, though in the interior its migrations extend 

 up the shores of the Mississippi to the 38th degree. Af- 

 ter wintering in some part of the tropical continent of 



