THE NIGHT HAWK. 



As you will see from my name, 

 I am a bird of the night. Day 

 time is not at all pleasing to me 

 because of its brightness and 

 noise. 



I like the cool, dark evenings 

 when the insects fly around the 

 house-tops. They are my food 

 and it needs a quick bird to 

 catch them. If you will notice 

 my flight, you will see it is swift 

 and graceful. When hunting 

 insects we go in a crowd. It is 

 seldom that people see us be 

 cause of the darkness. Often we 

 stay near a stream of water, for 

 the fog which rises in the night 

 hides us from the insects on 

 which we feed. 



None of us sing well we have 

 only a few doleful notes which 

 frighten people who do not 

 understand our habits. 



In the daytime we seek the 

 darkest part of the woods, and 



perch lengthwise on the branches 

 of trees, just as our cousins the 

 Whippoorwills do. We. could 

 perch crosswise just as well. 

 Can you think why we do not? 

 If there be no woods near, we 

 just roost upon the ground. 



Our plumage is a mottled 

 brown the same color of the 

 bark on which we rest. Our 

 eggs are laid on the ground, for 

 we do not care to build nests. 

 There are only two of them, dull 

 white with grayish brown marks 

 on them. 



Sometimes we lay our eggs on 

 flat roofs in cities, and stay there 

 during the day, but we prefer 

 the country where there is good 

 pasture land. I think my cousin 

 Whippoorwill is to talk to you 

 next month. People think we 

 are very much alike. You can 

 judge for yourself when you see 

 his picture. 



176 



