GOATSUCKERS 223 



tail ; tail with at least terminal third of outer feathers white or buffy ; 

 throat tawny, bristles of gape with lateral filaments. Adult female : similar, 

 but without white or buff y on tail. Young : similar, but much lighter, top 

 of head grayish and wings tawny. Length: 11-12, wing 8.70-8.90, tail 

 6.25-6.30. 



Distribution. Breeds in Lower Sonoran zone in the southeastern United 

 States, from southern parts of Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas 

 south to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic west to Fort Clark, 

 Texas ; migrates to the West Indies, and through eastern Mexico to South 

 America. 



Eggs. Usually laid on dry leaves on the ground ; 2, creamy or pinkish 

 white, blotched, marbled, and spotted with browns and purples. 



Food. Moths, beetles, winged ants, other insects, and birds. 



Like all the Caprimulgidca, the cliuck-will's-widow is crepuscular, 

 flying about mainly in the dim morning or evening hours. Its call of 

 chuck- will' 's-widow is markedly different from that of the whip-poor- 

 will. 



417. Antrostomus vociferus (Wils.). WHIP-POOR-WILL. 



Adult male. Throat blackish, bordered by white band; rest of under 

 parts mixed tawny and black ; upper parts mottled 

 gray, streaked, spotted, and barred with blackish, 

 black streaks of crown wide medially ; wings much 

 marked with reddish brown; three outer tail feathers 

 white for more than terminal third. Adult female : 

 similar, but white of tail much restricted and ob- 

 scured. Young : top of head mottled gray, spotted 

 instead of streaked with black ; rest of upper parts 

 bright tawny, scapulars with large black spots ; Fig. 288. 



under parts almost plain buffy. Length: 9.50-10.00, 

 wing 5.80-6.70, tail 5.10-6.50. 



Distribution. Breeds from the Atlantic to the Plains, and from Mani- 

 toba south through western Nebraska to Texas ; migrates to Guatemala ; 

 casual to Porto Rico and the West Indies. 



Eggs. Deposited on dry leaves on the ground ; 2, white, with blotches, 

 spots, and tracings of brown and purple. 



Food. ' Night-flying insects, including Rocky Mountain locusts. 



417a. A. V. macromystax (Wagler). STEPHENS WHIP-POOR-WILL. 



Adult male. Similar to A. vociferus, but slightly larger and more 

 tawny, throat band largely tawny in adult male, and white of tail re- 

 stricted to less than terminal third. Adult female : similar, but white of 

 tail tawny and restricted. Length : 9.60-10.20, wing 6.27-6.65, tail 4.03- 

 5.45. 



Distribution. Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Texas ; south 

 over mountains bordering tablelands of Mexico to Guatemala. 



Nest. A slight depression in the ground. Eggs : 1 or 2, white, or 

 with faint markings. 



Food. Among other things, large brown beetles. 



When we were spending a night in the head of McKittrick canyon 

 in the Guadalupe Mountains, Stephens whip-poor-wills came close 

 enough to our camp-fire for us to hear distinctly the marked burr of 



