152 BULLETIlSr 17 6, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Plumages. — [Author's note: The young chick is completely cov- 

 ered with long, soft, silky down ; on the upper parts the color varies 

 from "ochraceous-tawny" or "light ochraceous-buff" on the head to 

 "tawny" on the back; on the lower surface the color grades from 

 "ochraceous-tawny" on the chest to "light ochraceous-buff" on the 

 throat and belly. 



The growth of the juvenal plumage, in which the sexes are alike, 

 is rapid. Ridgway (1914) describes it very well as follows: "Similar 

 to the adult female in 'pattern' and coloration of tail, primaries, and 

 primary coverts, but otherwise different ; scapulars and middle wing- 

 coverts ochraceous-buff, irregularly barred witli, black; pileum more 

 grayish, with small spots, instead of streaks, of black; under parts 

 barred with black on a light brownish buffy ground, without vermic- 

 ulations, mottling, or spots, and band across lower throat indistinct 

 or obsolete." 



This plumage is worn but a short time, as a partial molt into a 

 first winter plumage begins in July ; I have seen a specimen that had 

 nearly completed this molt on August 2 ; this plumage closely resem- 

 bles that of the adult female, as the juvenal wings and tail are 

 retained; I can find no evidence of a spring molt. Young birds 

 apparently retain the first winter plumage, including the juvenal wings 

 and tail, until the following summer; I have seen birds in this plu- 

 mage during winter and as late as May in spring. 



Both adults and young have a complete annual molt, mainly in 

 July and August. At this first postnuptial molt young birds become 

 practically indistinguishable from adults, and the sexes become differ- 

 entiated. Young birds in fresh fall plumage are darker and more 

 richly colored than adults, with more "ochraceous-tawny" ; the colors 

 have faded some by spring. 



Adults have two recognizable color phases, a tawny phase, in which 

 the ground color of the two central rectrices varies from "ochraceous- 

 buff" to "ochraceous-tawny", with deeper ochraceous or buffy colors 

 in the scapulars and wing coverts; and a gray phase, in which the 

 ground color of the two central rectrices is pale buff, or pale grayish 

 buff, and the scapulars and wing coverts are paler and grayer.] 



Food. — The chuck-will's-widow, like its family relatives, is an in- 

 sect eater par excellence. The semitropical nature of much of its 

 range is highly conducive to an abundance of insects and other night- 

 flying creatures that are the bulk and mainstay of its diet. The mouth 

 of the chuck is enormous, a characteristic of the goatsucker tribe, 

 and is provided with bristles that act as a sort of additional trap. 

 The widely open mouth is as much as 2 inches at the greatest breadth. 



Prey is secured at low elevations, often only a few feet from the 

 ground. The bird works the edges of woodlands bordering open 



