124 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



ern districts, it lays about the 20th of May : in the northern, 

 about the 10th of June. 



The male assists the female in incubating, as I have wit- 

 nessed many times. When perched by her on a tree or 

 fence-rail, during the light of mid-day, he always sits along 

 the limb or rail, instead of across it a peculiarity which is 

 also noticeable in the Whippoorwill. Some authors, in speak- 

 ing of this fact, explain it by noticing the comparatively 

 small size of the feet, and apparent weakness of the legs. 

 I think this can hardly be a sufficient cause ; for both these 

 birds, while on the ground, can run with considerable speed, 

 and, if captured, can not only perch across the finger of a 

 hand or the back of a chair, as I have often proved, but can 

 rest on one foot, drawing the other up into the feathers 

 of the belly, like other birds. 



About the 20th of August, after the young have become 

 able to provide for themselves, all the families in a neigh- 

 borhood assemble in a large, scattered flock; and, after 

 having become completely recruited from the labors of incu- 

 bation, they all leave for the south. 



