212 BIRDS OF FIELD, FOREST AND PARK 



the ground that you will fear for his safety. 

 But in good time he turns sharply and grace- 

 fully upward, and goes unharmed on his zig-zag 

 course. The downward plunge is accompanied 

 by a deep booming sound caused by the rush 

 of air through the stiff primaries. So the Night- 

 hawk is sometimes called the "bass trumpet 

 player in Nature's orchestra." 



While the Nighthawk is about the size of the 

 Robin, because of the long wings they seem 

 much larger in flight. The upper parts are 

 blackish marked with irregular spots of white 

 or cream-buif . The black tail has broken bars of 

 cream-buff", and the outer feathers are banded 

 with white near the tips. The breast is black and 

 the throat has a white patch; otherwise the under 

 parts are barred with black and white. The best 

 field mark when the bird is in flight is the white 

 spot on either wing, which looks like a hole. 



When not on the wing the Nighthawk perches 

 on a low limb, fence rail, rock, and even on the 

 ground, if there are no trees or other perches 

 about. In the city he rests on flat-roofed houses. 

 Sometimes the two eggs are deposited on a loose 

 pile of sticks; often there is no nest at all and 

 the eggs are laid on the bare rock or house roof. 

 The eggs are said to vary in color, seemindy 

 the better to harmonize with the surrounding 

 objects. Nighthawks range in summer from the 

 Gulf of Mexico to Labrador, and winter in 

 South America. They are among the arrivals of 

 late May. 



Whippoorwill. While the Nighthawk is 

 rarely seen except in flight, the Whippoorwill 



