1 32 Wild Birds 



the not wholly dissimilar behavior which Eagles display when 

 stirred by similar emotions. When the young Night Hawk is 

 exposed to a hot sun, its lower jaw also begins to vibrate but at a 

 much higher rate of speed, when it will toddle off and crouch in 

 the shade of a leaf. It begins to walk when three or four days 

 old, but rarely emits a sound, except under circumstances which 

 will be presently described. Fearing lest the old bird should 

 entice it away, I corralled it in a small enclosure of wattled twigs 

 on July 3d. In this pen it remained a week longer or until 

 able to fly, at the age of about eighteen days. 



Wishing to witness the feeding habits of these birds, which 

 I believe have never been described, I spent parts of three days 

 and nights camped beside the enclosure and was the witness 

 of some interesting and curious sights. On the first day I set 

 up the tent at three o'clock in the afternoon, but heard no 

 sound for an hour, when the young began to pe-up ! At five 

 o'clock the pisk ! of the male sounded for the first time. During 

 the interval a single incident occurred to vary the monotony. A 

 green snake in the course of his rambles had discovered the 

 young Night Hawk, and when first seen was watching the bird 

 intently from a stump close to the tent. The snake after re- 

 maining with head erect, and keenly eying the bird for a long 

 time, slowly advanced, putting out his tongue, but when a few 

 inches away hesitated again, and as if deciding not to experi- 

 ment further, turned to one side and disappeared. The bird 

 paid no attention whatever to these advances of the snake. At 

 this juncture I left the tent for an hour, and returned as the sun 

 was setting at half-past seven o'clock. 



At dark a change begins to come over the Night Hawk 

 family. The young bird shows signs of life, moves about calling 

 for food, and grows livelier as the darkness increases, making 

 a sound like pe-ur ! pe-up ! Both old birds are now alert and 

 gyrating overhead. You hear their pisk ! pisk ! and the startling 

 sound caused by the vibration of the wings, as an old bird de- 

 scends like a bolt toward the earth. As these sounds increase 

 with their nearer approach, the nervous excitement of the 

 young is curious to behold. He is all a-tremor, moves now in 



