230 BULLETIN 17 6, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Game. — Today we do not think of the nighthawk as a game bird, 

 yet 60 years ago large numbers of them were killed by gunners and 

 sportsmen, especially in the Southern States. M. G. Elzey, writing 

 on September IS", 1876, stated: "Bull-bats (nighthawks) are the best 

 of the minor game of this country for sport or table; have been very 

 abundant and in superb condition here (Blacksburg, Virginia) for 

 the past two weeks. I have killed several hundred. On one occa- 

 sion took out 28 cartridges and brought in 23 birds besides 2 which 

 fell out of bounds and were recovered by boys. Killed 17 in succes- 

 sion. The bats are quite as fat and better game than the reed birds." 

 Dr. E. Sterling (1885) wrote: "Their rapid and irregular flight 

 makes them a difficult mark for the young sportsman to practice on, 

 as he never fails to make a target of them when the opportunity 

 offers. I can now understand the object for which this bird was 

 created." Dr. F. M. Chapman (1888), writing of conditions at 

 Gainesville, Fla., stated, " 'Bat' shooting is here a popular pastime, 

 great numbers being killed for food, and in August, when the birds 

 have gathered in flocks, favorite fields may be occupied at nightfall 

 by as many as a dozen shooters." Stockard ( 1905 ) lamented the fact 

 that the birds "are foolishly slaughtered by pseudo-sportsmen who 

 shoot them merely to watch the bird's graceful fall or to improve 

 their skill as marksmen." 



The practice of killing nighthawks was stopped through laws and 

 by educational methods initiated by the National Association of 

 Audubon Societies. William Dutcher (1902), in writing of condi- 

 tions in Florida, stated, "It is believed, on very satisfactory evidence 

 that the new law has stopped to a large degree the disgraceful 

 practice of shooting 'bull-bats' or Nighthawks {Ghordeiles virgini- 

 anus) for sport," Bird-Lore for September-October 1903 pub- 

 lished the following note: "The Night-hawk, or Bullbat, has 

 been so long considered a legitimate target for shotgun practice, in 

 the south, that a report of prosecution for killing these birds at 

 Greensboro, North Carolina, marks a new era of bird protection in 

 our southern states." 



Enemies. — The greatest enemy of the nighthawk has been man. 

 In the past great numbers of the birds were killed for food and 

 often for mere sport or for satisfying a lust for killing. This was 

 especially true in the Southern States, where the birds were slaugh- 

 tered during the great flights of the annual migrations. 



Nighthawks nesting on the ground are subject to the same enemies 

 experienced by other species of ground-nesting birds. Night hawks 

 nesting on roofs are usually free from such molestation, but Albert F. 

 Ganier infomis me that he has known of sparrow hawks invading 

 the cities and preying upon the nighthawks, especially the young. 



