The Nlghthawk {Chordelles virginiafius) 

 By Herman C. De Groat 



Length: •' to lU inches. 



Range: Northern and eastern North iXmerica. west to the great plains and 

 I British Columhia, and from Labrador south to the tropics. 



Not to be confused with the wliippoorwill. The latter lives in woodland and 

 is chiefly nocturnal. The nighthawk often flies by day. when the white bar across 

 the wing and its nasal cry are distinguishing. 



Habits and economic status : The skillful evolutions of a company of night- 

 hawks as the birds gracefully cleave the air in intersecting circles is a sight to be 

 remembered. So expert are they on the wing that no insect is safe from them, 

 even the swift dragonfly being captiu-ed with ease. Unfortunately their erratic 

 flight tempts men to use them for targets, and this inexcusable practice is seri- 

 ously diminishing their numbers, which is deplorable, since no birds are more 

 useful. This species makes no nest, but lays its two spotted eggs on the bare 

 ground, sometimes on the gravel roof of the city house. The nighthawk is a 

 \oracious feeder and is almost exclusively insectivorous. Some stomachs con- 

 tained from 30 to 50 dififerent kinds of insects, and more than 600 kinds have 

 been identified from the stomachs thus far examined. From 500 to LOOO ants 

 are often found in a stomach. Several species of mosquitoes, including Anopheles. 

 the transmitter of malaria, are eaten. Other well-known pests destroyed by the 

 nighthawk are the Colorado potato beetle, cucumber beetles, chestnut, rice, clover- 

 leaf and cotton-boll weevils, billbugs. bark beetles, squash bugs, and moths of the 

 cotton worm. 



This bird is not properly named, ;i> it does not belon.g to the family of hawks 

 at all, only resembling them in its flight. It is a bird of the evening rather than 

 of the daytime, seldom showing itself abroad except on cloudy days until two or 

 three hotirs before sunset. Then, circling high in the air it may be both seen and 

 heard, for its size makes it cons))icuous and it frequently utters a loud peent as it 

 tips this way and that on the wing. Xow and then it plunges headlong towards 

 the earth with a strange, booming sound and a swiftness that threatens sure death, 

 but. just before reaching the earth it turns suddenly with a few quick movements 

 of its wings and soars again to the region of the clouds only to repeat its aerial 

 gymnastics a few moments later. The white spot on the wing is an easy mark of 

 identification. 



During these lofty flights the bird is feasting on the moths and beetles that 

 fly high in the air. Long after the darkness of night has settled down, the cry of 

 the nighthawk may still be heard in the sk> It is not confined to the country. 

 The dwellers in cities and towns may >-ee it sailing abo\e the loftiest buildings 

 and tallest church spires on the top of which it sometimes alights. 



The day is ])assed by the nightha^^k in the woods, perched lengthwise on a 



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