246 



NATURE SKETCHES IX TEMPERATE AMERICA 



yifw 



The Bikd of Twilight 



^ Xjf v. HO has not associated his boyhood days 



^yJCj^J^:- ^^'^'^ ^'^^ ^^^^^^ "^ t\vili<rht! Sailing; here 



'^ or al)ruj)tly tuiiihling in tlie air, the 



strange-winged form appears as a seeming spectre before our 

 eyes. In the fall of the year we are forewarned of the first 

 mysterious fliglit of the night hawk l)y the straggHng advanced 

 sentinel's rasping ze-e-e-e-t, as the sound conies in at the open 

 window. The popular name of night hawk given to this twilight 

 visitor is a misnomer. Xo bird with which we are familiar 

 is farther removed from the hawk group. Then, too, the name 

 bull-bat, which some of the Southern boys would have us call 

 him, is fully as misleading. For the reasons I have stated 

 I have christened him the bird of twilight. 



On the long route of migration, insects arc gracefully eaten 

 in mid-air by this bird. They are swept into the cavernous 

 bewhiskered mouth during the flight. Frequent stops by day 

 are made in the open woods, but a practised eye is necessary 

 to detect their resting spots. I recall, when once making an 

 excursion into the woods, noticing what appeared to be an 



