210 BULLETIN 17G, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



in Lake County, Minn., in a district previously burnt over. It has 

 been noted that in regions that have been burnt over the nighthaw]?: 

 population increases; hence the burning of timber land, which is so 

 destructive to many species of birds, is not a hindrance but possibly 

 an aid to the general welfare of the nighthawk. 



The nighthawk has also been found to breed in cultivated areas. 

 I. E. Hess (1910) noted its nesting in plowed fields in central Illi- 

 nois, and T. G. Gentry (1877) states that old stubble fields are fre- 

 quently selected as nesting sites. H. J. Rust (1911) has reported the 

 western nighthawk in cornfields in Idaho and California. The 

 Texas nighthawk, according to Sharp (1907), is a common inhabi- 

 tant of the vineyards of San Diego, Calif., where the eggs are placed 

 on the ground under or near the vines. Nests have also been found 

 in potato fields and even in gardens near the houses of man. C. B. 

 Ressel (1889) reported the eggs of the nighthawk placed upon the 

 loose soil thrown up by the woodchuck {Marmota monax), indicating 

 that barren places even though they are composed of loose soil may 

 be preferred to sites covered with vegetation, twigs, or other debris. 



In Virginia, according to H. H. Bailey (1913), the nighthawk 

 often departs from its usual ground nest to a place on a stump, fence 

 rail, or tops of drifts formed on the islands off the Virginia coast. 

 Nests on stumps have been reported from various localities. I have 

 found nests on the flat surface of top rails of fences in central 

 Illinois; one of these nests was 8 feet from the ground. V. Max 

 Kemery (1925) reports an unusual nesting site between the rails on 

 a railroad track that was in daily use. The bird would fly when 

 the cars or engine approached but returned as soon as the train had 

 passed. Another unique nesting place that has come to my atten- 

 tion is an old robin's nest located in a tree near Farmington, Maine. 

 This nighthawk, according to Mr. Jewell (1908), nested in this 

 unusual site for five successive years, the tree being destroyed by 

 fire at the end of that time. 



The nighthawk in increasing numbers is availing itself of nesting 

 sites provided by the graveled roofs of our cities and towns. In 

 certain sections of the country this tendency is so marked that night- 

 hawks are now seldom seen remote from graveled roofs during the 

 nesting season, according to Lynds Jones (1909). The chimney 

 swift, a not distant relative of the nighthawk, long ago forsook its 

 primitive nesting sites in hollow trees, and today we no longer 

 associate them with such places. Occurring simultaneously with 

 the destruction of the giant forest trees was the erection of chimneys 

 in connection with the homes of civilized races. The chimney swift, 

 deprived of its original nesting site, was quick to make the radical 

 but necessary change. Doubtless this adaptability to a changing en- 



