566 S YSTEMA TIC S YNOPSIS. — PICA RLI^ — CORA CI^. 



ritory, and Texas ; resident on our southern border, migratory in the rest of its range, April 

 and Sept. ; breeds throughout, chiefly in May and June. No nest ; eggs laid on the ground, 

 in woods, 2 in number, equal-ended or nearly so, averaging 1.45 X 1.05, creamy or pinkish, 

 but very heavily marked in intricate pattern with browns and neutral tints ; the tone extremely 

 variable in its blotching, marbling, and clouding, indescribable in few words. The bird feeds 

 maiuly upon large night-flying lepidopterous and coleopterous insects, but includes many others 

 in its fare, and has long been known to devour occasionally small birds. It is very common 

 in the Southern States, but an elusive recluse. 



A. voci'ferus. (Lat. vociferus, voice-bearing. Figs. 378, 381, 383.) Whippoorwill. 

 NiCtHT-jar. The rictal bristles simple. Upper parts variegated with gray, black, whitish, 

 and tawny ; prevailing tone gray ; black streaks sharp on head and back ; colors elsewhere 

 delicately marbled, including four median tail-feathers ; wings and their coverts with bars of 

 rufous spots; lateral tail-feathers black, with large white ((?) or small tawny (9) terminal 

 spaces; a white ((^) or tawny (?) throat-bar. Adult ^ : Assuming stone-gray as ground- 

 color (jf upper parts : Crown with a purplish cast, heavily dashed lengthwise with black; back 



Fig. 38:J. — Whi|i|iuorwiU, i nat. size. (From Brehm. Tail not rounded enough.) 



darker, with smaller streaks; tail beautifully marbled with slate-gray and black tending cross- 

 wise on 4 middle feathers ; scapulars with bold black centre-fields set in frosty marbling ; hind 

 neck with white specks, as if continued around from white throat-bar. Primaries black, with 

 a little marbling at their ends, fully broken-barred with tawny-reddish ; no white spaces. 

 Three lateral tail-feathers mostly black, with pure white terminal spaces 1-2 inches long. 

 Under parts quite blackish, on breast powdered over with hoary-gray, more posteriorly marbled 

 with gray and tawny, tending crosswise. Lores and ear-coverts dark brown. It is only in 

 perfect plumage that the colors are as slaty and frosty as described ; ordinarily more brown 

 and ochrey. Length 9.00-10.00 ; extent 16.00-18.00; wing 6.00 or more; tail 6.00 or less ; 

 whole foot 1.40; longest rictal bristle about 1.50; the distance across from one corner of mouth 

 to the other about as much as length of gape. Adult 9 '• General tone more brownish and 

 ochrey; throat-bar tawny-whitish; tail-spaces very slight and ochraceous; rather smaller. 

 Eastern U. S. and British Provinces, N. in Canada to lat. 54° iu the region of Lake Winnipeg, 

 W. to Manitoba and Assiniboia, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Indian Territory, and Texas ; 

 S. in winter to Guatemala ; casual in some of the West Indies ; migratory in nearly all its 

 N. A. range, but winters on our Gulf coast; breeds from the S. States northward, mainly in May 

 and June ; migrates mainly in April and Sept. A shady character, oftener heard than seen, of 

 recluse nocturnal habits and perfectly noiseless flight, in the breeding season ceaseless in 



