144 
Distinctions. Only to be mistaken for the Nighthawk or the very rare Chuck-will’e 
Widow. It is easily distinguished from the Nighthawk by the following points: th; 
throat is dark instead of white; there is a narrow white collar across the base of the throats 
the final half of the tail feathers, except the middle pair, is white in the male and tipped 
with buffy white in the female. The spread wing shows no white spot. 
Nesting. Eggs are laid directly upon the ground or on dead leaves. 
Distribution. Common throughout most of the settled parts of eastern Canada, 
scarcer in the extreme east, and more common in undisturbed than in highly cultivated 
sections. 
SUBSPECIES. Two subspecies of Whip-poor-will are recognized in North America, 
of which the Eastern Whip-poor-will, the type form, is the only one occurring in Canada. 
There is no other sound in the Canadian woods as poetically mournful 
as the reiterated call of the Whip-poor-will. The translation of bird 
notes into words usually requires a stretch of the imagination, but this 
bird says ‘‘Whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will’’ with unusual distinctness. 
For a calling station it selects a perch on a fallen tree-trunk, a bare branch, 
the roof of a building, or even a tent pole. It returns to its various stations 
regularty on successive nights and seems to visit each in turn. Between 
periods of calling the bird hawks and wheels through the tree tops in 
large interlacing circles, sometimes swooping towards the ground in a long 
pendulum-like swing. In the daytime it seeks the ground in some quiet 
patch of underbrush where it passes the time at rest. When disturbed 
by an intruder it rises with a loose, poorly controlled flight that gives no 
indication of its wonderful command of the air at other times, flutters 
a short distance over the tangle, and drops again to earth. 
The Whip-poor-will is often regarded as identical with the Nighthawk. 
This is a not unnatural mistake when they are not seen side by side as 
they are quite similar enough to be confused. 
Economic Status. The Whip-poor-will feeds largely upon night- 
flying beetles, especially May beetles or June bugs. 
420. Nighthawk. MOSQUITO HAWK. BULL-BAT. NIGHT-JAR. FR.—L’ENGOULEVENT 
D’AMER IQUE. Chordeiles virginianus. L, 10. Plate XXI A. 
Distinctions. The Nighthawk and the Whip-poor-will are often mistaken for one 
another. This species, however, can be distinguished from the Whip-poor-will by the 
following characters: the throat is white instead of dark, there is no white collar below 
the throat, and the long mouth-bristles are lacking. The tail is slightly forked instead 
of round and has little or no white except a narrow subterminal bar. The underparts 
are distinctly barred and the wings have a white spot at the base of the primaries instead 
of being all black. 
Field Marks. The Nighthawk flies about in daylight and in the early evening, 
whereas the Whip-poor-will never hawks about in the open until evening. A white spot 
in the wing shows in flight very plainly, resembling from a little distance a clear cut shot 
hole. The sudden and perpendicular dive in the air with hollow booming accompaniment 
is also distinctive of the species. 
Nesting. A clear spot on the ground—usually the bald tops of flat rocks in the open. 
Eggs laid directly on ground with little or no preparation. Often utilizes the flat gravel 
roofs of buildings. 
Distribution. North and South America, north to the tree limits, breeding in Canada 
wherever found. 
SUBSPECIES. Several subspecies of Nighthawks are reeognized in Canada, but 
the only form occurring in the east is the Eastern Nighthawk, the type form. 
Though called Nighthawk this bird has no relation to the Raptores 
in habit, structure, or outward appearance. Its large eyes directed slightly 
forward sometimes causes it to be mistaken for an owl by casual observers. 
This species nests to some extent on the flat gravel roofs of buildings. 
