GOATSUCKERS : Family Caprimulgidae [ 3 5 5 ] 



Few Oregonians are acquainted with this bird by sight, and those who 

 are, know it as a pair of shining eyes that gleam from the roadway in 

 the lights of a car or as a ghostly shape that flits for an instant across 

 the beam from those same headlights. More people know it by its rapid, 

 oft-repeated call, poor-will, poor-will, whistled endlessly from the vantage 

 point of some hillside on a June evening. Although the unseen musician 

 is easily heard, an attempt to locate the singer quickly reveals the ven- 

 triloquial character of the note. This, combined with a color that matches 

 the surroundings so exactly, makes the attempt to find it a more or less 

 hopeless one that succeeds only by accident. 



Dusky Poor-will: 



Phalaenoftilus nuttalli californicus Rid g way 



DESCRIPTION. "Similar to nuttallii but much darker; middle of crown largely 

 blackish; hind neck extensively marked with black, back dull blackish gray or wood 

 brown instead of light brown." (Bailey) Si%e: About same as Nuttall's Poorwill. 

 Nest and eggs: Identical with previous subspecies. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: From southern Oregon south to Lower California. In 

 Oregon: Rare summer resident of chaparral lands bordering Rogue River Valley in 

 Jackson County. 



THE STATUS of the Dusky Poor-will as an Oregon bird rests on a single 

 specimen (Gabrielson Coll. No. 1884) taken at Brownsboro, Jackson 

 County, on June 2.1, 192.9, that is strictly comparable to birds from 

 Sonoma County, California, although slightly darker than several other 

 California specimens. On numerous dates between May n and September 

 17, Gabrielson has heard poor-wills calling in this locality and several 

 times has flushed birds when driving a car through the district at night. 

 The bird is undoubtedly a regular summer resident of this area in eastern 

 Jackson County and probably of other parts of the Rogue River Valley. 

 It is difficult to collect in the dense brush of the territory it frequents 

 and consequently escapes detection except under favorable circumstances. 



Pacific Nighthawk: 



Chordeiles minor hesperis Grinnell 



DESCRIPTION. "Entire upper parts black, mottled with gray and marked with 

 buffy brown; outer tail feathers crossed near the tip by a white band; a broad band 

 of white across throat; breast black, speckled with gray; wings long and narrow crossed 

 by a broad white bar; tail forked. Bill very small, black; feet flesh-color. Female: 

 Throat-band buff, no white bar on tail." (Hoffman 192.7.) Si%e: 9-10, wing 7.30- 

 8.2.0, tail 4.10-4.60. Nest: None, eggs laid on bare ground or on roofs of buildings. 

 Eggs: 2., creamy, olive, or buff, heavily spotted or blotched with black, gray, and 

 lavender. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from southeastern British Columbia south to north- 

 ern California and in Sierra Nevada Mountains south to southern California. 

 Winters southward. In Oregon: Abundant summer resident. 



