The Goatsuckers 359 



but seem to be made with ease and much of the time 

 in silence. Their wings are so long that when folded 

 they extend beyond the end of the tail. When expanded 

 they make the birds appear larger than robins or jays, 

 although they weigh much less. 



The nighthawk does not perch, but rests on its breast 

 lengthwise on the limb of a tree. It flies at various hours 

 of the afternoon and sometimes earlier, but is most often 

 seen between five o'clock and dark. It builds no nest, 

 but lays two eggs on the ground in fields or open woods, 

 or, rarely, among the pebbles of the gravel-covered 

 roofs of business blocks in cities. The eggs are regularly 

 elliptical, having the two ends alike. They differ in 

 color, but are blotched or finely speckled with brown or 

 gray. If the mother bird is disturbed, she will move the 

 eggs to a new location. 



The whippoorwill. The whippoorwill resembles the 

 nighthawk, but should not be confused with it. The 

 two species are much more easily distinguished from 

 each other than are our various species of sparrows. The 

 whippoorwill's wings show no white patches and do not 

 reach nearly to the tip of the tail. The end half of 

 the three outer tail feathers is white, and there is a band 

 of white across the breast. The upper parts of both 

 birds are dark colored, but so mottled as to harmonize 

 with dead leaves and other litter on the ground. 



Instead of soaring high in the air in search of food, 

 whippoorwills catch moths and beetles in the woods 

 and bushy fields. The two eggs are laid on the ground 

 in the woods, without any nest. They are shaped like 

 those of the nighthawk, but have obscure lilac markings. 



