I98 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 2 



The species has the general appearance of the nighthawks of the 

 genus Chord eiles but is distinguished in life by the much shorter tail, 

 and by more erratic flight, in which the birds move swiftly in con- 

 stantly shifting turns. In outline they appear darker also through 

 lack of white markings on the wings and general blacker hue. They 

 range frequently in pairs, appear in the open for a few minutes, and 

 then disappear among the adjacent trees. It has been my impression 



Figure 32. — Short-tailed nighthawk, tapacamino selvatico, Lurocalis 

 semitorquatus noctivagus. 



that their feeding flights are mainly within the cover of the forest, or 

 immediately above the tree crown where they can not be seen from 

 below. The 2 taken on Cebaco had the stomachs filled with small 

 beetles. All that I have observed have been silent. This brief outline 

 is all that I have been able to record during the many hours in which I 

 have watched for them at dusk and at dawn. Wharton Huber (Auk, 

 1923, p. 301) records that his specimen from Nicaragua, the first for 

 Central America, was shot from a flock of "15 or 20 individuals that 

 were flying back and forth over the Banbana River at dusk. . . . They 

 were very noisy in flight, uttering a harsh call." 



