TWO WINGED MYSTERIES 303 



the parent birds are so near the color of earth and 

 rock that it is very difficult to find them when they 

 are sitting, the young when hatched are equally invisi- 

 ble, and the eggs themselves look like two little stones 

 — for there are never more than two. I will show 

 you a Nighthawk in my cabinet, and you will see for 

 yourselves how nicely the colors match ground and 

 rocks." 



" He looks like a pretty big bird," said Dodo. ''How 

 long is he ? Is there only one in his family? " 



" He has a brother called the Whip-poor-will, that 

 we should meet very soon." 



The Nighthawk 



Length ten inches. 



Mottled black and rusty above. Barred on the under parts with 

 black and white or buff. A white collar on the throat, a white 

 spot going entirely through the wing, and a white band across the 

 tail. 



A Summer Citizen of eastern North America, from the Gulf of 

 Mexico to Canada, travelling far south for tlie winter. 

 ■ A shy neighbor but a valuable Citizen, belonging to the Ground 

 Gleaners as well as Sky Sweepers. 



THE WHIP-POOR-WILL 



"This mysterious bird is also a dweller in lonely 

 places, feeding at night in the woods, having no nest, 

 and laying the eggs in a hollow in the ground or on a 

 stump or log. He is so nearly of the color of wood, 

 earth, and rock, that you may pass near him a hundred 

 times and never see him. Then too, when he perches in 

 the day-time, he does not sit across a branch like other 



