162 LIFE IIISTOKIES OF NORTH AMEEICAN BIRDS. 



"I have never found the Parauque nesting- in the dense thickets, where they 

 hide during- the winter. They seek the more open ground, tlie liigh, level spots 

 near the river, or up some arroya, among scattering bushes and pear cactus, l)ut 

 never on tlie rocky hills, where the Texan Nighthawk is frequently found. In 

 one instance a nest was found at the edg-e of a cultivated field. *. The eggs are 

 placed on the l)are ground, with no attenipt at nest building, and usually at the 

 foot of a clump of l)ushes. The bird, when flushed from the nest, quietly darts 

 oft' and (h'ops to the ground but a short distance away. 



"During the winter and spring (1894) I founil the Parauque to be fairly 

 conunon along the lower course of the Nueces Ri\er, l)ut I do not think that it 

 is to be found much fartlier east, and I know that a little farther north its \Aace 

 is taken by the Chuck-will's-widow. Here, as on the Rio Grande, I found it 

 resident throughout the year, and although it breeds there, I was not successful 

 in finding any nests." 



The food of Merrill's Parauque, like that of the rest of the Cupriniuhjida;, 

 consists mainly of night-fiying insects, such as moths, beetles, etc. The crop of 

 a specimen shot by Mr. H. P. Attwater, near Rockj)ort, Texas, was filh'd with 

 fireflies, Phothins purcdisf. In the lower Rio Grande Valley fresh eggs are 

 occasionallv taken in the second week in April, but the l)reeding season is not 

 at its height before May and lasts well into June. The earliest breeding record 

 I have is April 14; the latest, June 27; in both cases the eggs were fresh. It is 

 probable that two broods are, at least occasionally, raised in a season. 



The eggs of Merrill's Parauque approach an elliptical ovate more than an 

 ellii)tical oval, one end being always more percej)til)ly pointed than the other. 

 The shell is close-grained, rather thin, and either without gloss or only moder- 

 ately glossy. Their ground color varies from cream and vinaceous buff' to a 

 rich salmon buff", and this is more or less abundantly spotted and splashed with 

 bufty ])ink, ecru drab, pale lavender, and more rarely with deeper shades of 

 cinnamon rufous. In an occasional specimen the markings are mainly confined 

 to the larger end, l)ut in the majority they are pretty evenly scattered over the 

 entire surface of the egg. A few are but slightly marked, and unless carefully 

 examined might pass for immaculate. They are handsome eggs, and do not 

 resemble any others of the Caprim.ulgidcB found in the United States. 



The average measurement of forty-one specimens in the United States 

 National Museum collection, mostly from the Ralph collection, is 31.24 by 

 22.66 nuUimetres, or about 1.23 by 0.89 inches. The largest egg of the series 

 Pleasures 33.27 by 24.13 millimetres, or 1.31 by 0.95 inches; the smallest, 27.18 

 by 20.57 millimetres, or 1.07 by 0.81 inches. 



Of the type specimens. No. 25289 (PI. 2, Fig. 1), from a set of two eggs, 

 Ralph collection, taken on May 16, 1892, represents one of the better marked 

 examples, Avhile No. 26335 (PI. 2, Fig. 2), also from a set of two and fnini tlie 

 same collection, taken on April 16, 1893, represents one of the lighter-marked 

 types of this species. Both were obtained in Cameron County, Texas. 



