28o DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



mainly nocturnal, strictly insectivorous, and capture their prey in 

 their capacious mouths while on the wing. During the day they 

 generally pass the time crouching on the ground or perched 

 lengthwise upon the branches of trees. 



Genus Antrostomus Gould. 



i86. (417). Antrostomus vociferus {^\\s.). Whipporwill. 



The Whipporwill is a common summer resident in all wooded 

 portions of the state, arriving in the latter part of April and 

 departing in September. The species is almost strictly nocturnal, 

 lying close in thick woodland during the day, and thus is very 

 seldom seen. At night it is very active, hawking for night-flying 

 insects with almost noiseless flight, and frequently alighting to 

 utter its familiar ichip-poor-icill notes, which are well known 

 to many people who have never seen the bird. When heard 

 from a distance the notes give an attractive addition to a summer 

 evening, but at close range are almost startling in their vehem- 

 ence. The two eggs are deposited on dead leaves in the woods 

 from the latter part of May until the middle of June, no nest 

 being made. There is good evidence to the fact that both eggs 

 and 3'oung are often removed in the parent bird's mouth if the 

 nesting place is disturbed. However, I flushed a Whipporwill 

 from her two eggs on three different days without causing her to 

 change the location. The nest was found on a high bank of the 

 Iowa River above Iowa City during the latter part of June, 1906. 



Genus Chordeiles Swainson. 



187. (420). Chordeiles virginianus (Gmel.). Nighthawk. 



The Nighthawk is an abundant summer resident in all parts of 

 the state, arriving early in May and remaining until the first of 

 October. It is more a bird of the open than the Whipporwill, 

 and may be recognized by a conspicuous white spot on the prim- 

 aries. It is sometimes seen perched lengthwise upon the limb of 

 a tree in woodland, but more frequently roosts upon the ground 

 in open situations. The tw'O eggs are generally placed upon a 

 bare spot on a hill top, but in cities the species frequently depos- 

 its its eggs upon the flat, gravel-topped roofs of large buildings, 

 usually in early June. While the Nighthawk is generally more 

 active in the early dawn of the morning and from late afternoon 



