Night-Jars.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



287 



covered with fine brownish down. When the 

 night-hawk is wounded and captured, it opens its 

 mouth widely, utters a guttural whizzing noise, and 

 strikes with its wings, but never with the bill or 

 claws. The general ground-colour of the plumage 

 is dark liver-brown glossed with greenish; head, 

 neck, and wing-coverts spotted with yellowish 

 brown ; back and tertials mottled with brownish 

 white and greyish brown ; a band of white across the 

 middle quill-feathers ; a white broad arrow-shaped 

 mark on the throat, and a white dotted stripe above 

 the eyes. Plumage below barred with brownish 

 white and dark liver brown ; tail barred j claw of 

 middle toe serrated. Length nine inches and a half. 



1316.— The Whip-poor-Will 



{Caprimulgns vocifens]. Female and Young. 

 This species, universally spread over all the 

 United States of America, has received its name 

 from the singularity of its notes, which seem to arti- 

 culate the words Whip-poor-Will with considerable 

 distinctness, the first and last syllables being uttered ! 

 with great emphasis ; and when two or more males 

 meet, they seem as if endeavouring to overpower 

 each other by the vehemence of their vociferations. 

 At these times, and indeed generally, they fly low, 

 skimming round the house or barn, and alighting on 

 stacks, palings, or the roof. Towards midnight they 

 generally become silent, unless a clear moonlight, 

 when they are heard without intermission till morn- 

 ing. It is about the 25th of April, according to 

 Wilson, that this bird is heard in Pennsylvania, and 

 in Kentucky about the 14th, commencing its call as 

 the dusk begins to set in ; and hundreds are some- 

 times heard at once in dilFerent parts of the wood, 

 striving to outdo eacli other. Early in June, when 

 the young appear, the notes of the male usually 

 cease ; but towards the latter end of the summer 

 they are again occasionally heard, though with less 

 vehemence and emphasis than in the spring. Early 

 in September the birds all move southwards, per- 

 forming a regular migration. 



The favourite haunts of this species are high dry 

 barren or hilly situations ; they seldom visit low 

 marshy tracts, or the low lands along the sea-coast ; 

 they abound in the barrens of Kentucky, where in 

 April and May their confused clamour is incessant 

 every evening, and, as Wilson asserts, extremely 

 agreeable to the inhabitants, who are lulled to sleep 

 by their voices, to which, especially on the approach 

 of dawn, the fuil-toned "tooting" of the pinnated 

 grouse forms a pleasing bass. 



The food of this species of Caprimulgus consists 

 of various sorts of insects : its flight in the pursuit is 

 rapid, zigzag, and noiseless; but it utters during 

 the time a low murmuring sound. Its general 

 habits and mode of perching resemble those of our 

 British night-jar. 



The female lays her eggs on the bare ground, and 

 puts every " ruse " in practice to decoy intruders 

 from her young, which are little shapeless things 

 covered with a down-like mould, and scarcely to be 

 seen amidst the withered leaves. It would appear 

 that, if the young be disturbed, the parent bird re- 

 moves them to a more secure locality. During the 

 day the Whip-poor-Will, unlike the night-hawk, is 

 completely confused by the light, and it sits sleep- 

 ing on a low branch or log, or even on the ground, 

 and that so soundly, that with caution a person may 

 pass within a very short distance of it without dis- 

 turbing it. When startled, however, it flies off, but 

 only to a short distance, and soon again, if unmo- 

 lested, settles into tranquil slumber. 



The plumage of this species is soft : the general 

 colour of the upper parts is dark brownish grey, 

 streaked and minutely sprinkled with brownish 

 black ; cheeks brownish red ; quill-feathers and co- 

 verts dark brown, spotted in bars with light brown : 

 the three lateral tail-feathers white at the tips. A 

 yellowish white transverse band across the fore part 

 of the neck ; under parts paler than the upper, and 

 mottled. Length nine inches. 



1317.— The Chuck-Will's-Widow 



(^Caprirmdgm Carolinensis) . The name of this 

 species is taken from its cry, which it utters with 

 great clearness, repeating the sound Chuck-Will's- 

 Widow loudly and distinctly six or seven times in 

 «uccession, then stopping and repeating it again. 

 It is to the southern parts of the United States of 

 America that this bird pays its annual visit, coming 

 from Mexico, and perhaps still warmer climates, 

 where it sojourns during the ivinter. Louisiana, 

 Florida, and the lower portions of Alabama and 

 Georgia, are the districts in which it chiefly abounds. 

 Ravines, swamps, and extensive pine-ridges are 

 alike resorted to by the Chuck-Will's-Widow, its food 

 abounding equally in all those places, which also 

 afford it ample means of safety during the day. It 

 principally roosts in the hollow of decayed trees or 

 prostrate logs, and often in company with bats, which 

 cling to the sides of the cavities. " When surprised 

 in such situations," says Audubon, " instead of try- 



ing to effect their escape by flying out, they retire 

 backwards to the farthest corners, ruffle all the fea- 

 thers of the body, open the mouth to its full ex- 

 tent, and utter a hissing kind of murmur; when 

 seized and brought to tJie light of day, they open 

 and close their eyes in rapid succession, as if it 

 were painful for them to encounter so bright a light ; 

 they snap their little bills in the manner of flycatchers, 

 and shuffle along as if extremely desirous of making 

 their escape." During the hours of dusk they are 

 all animation, and display the most rapid and varied 

 evolutions in the air, wheeling, sweeping along, 

 mounting and descending with admirable ease and 

 grace. The mode of incubation resembles that de- 

 scribed of the other species, and the manner of 

 perching is the same. The young, and also the 

 eggs, if meddled with, are removed to another 

 spot. " When the Chuck-Will's-Widow," says Au- 

 dubon, "either male or female, for each sits alter- 

 nately, has discovered that its eggs have been 

 touched, it ruffles its feathers, and appears ex- 

 tremely dejected for a minute or two, after which 

 it emits a low murmuring cry, scarcely audible 

 to me as I have lain concealed at a distance of 18 

 or 20 yards. At this time I have seen the other 

 parent reach the spot, flying so low over the ground 

 that I thought its little feet must have touched it 

 as it skimmed along. After a few low notes and 

 some gesticulations, I have witnessed each take an 

 egg in its large mouth, and both fly oft' together, 

 skimming closely over the ground, until they dis- 

 appeared among the branches and trees. But to 

 what distance they remove their eggs I have never 

 been able to ascertain, nor have I ever had an op- 

 portunity of witnessing the removal of the young. 

 Should a person coming upon the nest when the 

 bird is sitting, refrain from touching the eggs, the 

 bird returns to them and sits as before : this fact I 

 have also ascertained by observation." The Chuck- 

 Will's-Widow arrives in Georgia about the middle 

 of March, and in Virginia early in April, and imme- 

 diately gives notice of its arrival by its evening 

 call, numbers keeping up the chorus during the 

 hours of twilight, and through the night, if it be 

 clear. They leave the United States towards the 

 latter end of August. The colours of the plumage 

 of this elegant bird consist of yellow, ferruginous, 

 and blackish brown, blended and mingled together ; 

 the head and back are dark brown, minutely mot- 

 tled with yellowish red, and longitudinally streaked 

 with black ; the wings are barred with yellowish 

 red and brownish black, and minutely sprinkled 

 with the latter colour. Tail similarly barred and 

 sprinkled : the inner webs of the three outer feathers 

 white. Under parts blackish, sprinkled with yel- 

 lowish red : a slight band of whitish across the fore 

 part of the neck. 



1318. — The Gdacharo 



{Steatornis Carlpensis, Humboldt). This extra- 

 ordinary bird was discovered by Baron Humboldt in 

 the cavern of Caripe, called Cueva del Guacharo, in 

 the province of Cumana, which it haunts, in thou- 

 sands ; and either the same or a closely allied spe- 

 cies was seen by him in a ravine, traversed by two 

 natural bridges, of the valley of Icononzo (Cordil- 

 leras), visited by himself and Bonpland on their way 

 from Santa Fe de Bogota to Popayan and Quito. 

 This ravine is represented at Fig. 1319, and the dis- 

 tance of the upper bridge from the little mountain- 

 torrent below is about 315 feet. It is in this deep 

 ravine that these birds congregate, flitting in the 

 gloom, like foul spirits, as if unwilling to meet the 

 light of " garish day." In the middle of this second 

 bridge there is a hole, of about ninety square feet in 

 area, through which can be seen the bottom of the 

 abyss below. The torrent seems as if it flowed away 

 into a dusky cavern ; and a mournful sound falls on 

 the ear, proceeding from an infinite multitude of 

 night-birds that dwell in the dusky cleft, and are 

 to be seen in thousands hovering over the water. 

 It is impossible, however, to catch any of them ; and 

 the only mode of obtaining anything like a distinct 

 view of them is by throwing down squibs or 

 torches to produce a momentary light. They were 

 described by the Indians (who call them Cacas) as 

 being about the size of a hen, and having the eyes 

 of an owl, with crooked beaks. The colour of their 

 plumage is uniform throughout, and of a brownish 

 grey, whence Humboldt rightly conjectures that 

 they belong to the Caprimulgidae, of which there 

 are many varieties in this region. The stream, 

 over which these bridges are suspended, flows from 

 east to west; and the view in our illustration is 

 taken from the northern part of the valley, from a 

 point where the arches are seen in profile. 



With respect to the Cueva del Guacharo, it is not 

 actually in the valley of Caripe, but at the distance 

 of three leagues from the convent, and is pierced in 

 the vertical profile of a rock ; the entrance is to the 

 south, forming a vault 80 feet broad and 72 high. 

 The rock surmounting the cavern is covered with 

 trees of gigantic height, and all the luxuriant pro- 



fusion of an intertropical climate ; and it is worthy 

 of o'oservation that this luxuriance of vegetation 

 penetrates even into the vestibule of the cave. The 

 travellers saw with astonishment plantain-leaved 

 heliconias 18 feet in height, the praga-palm, and tree- 

 arums follow the banks of the river even to the sub- 

 terranean places. The party went forwards for 

 about 430 feet without being obliged to light their 

 torches. Where the light began to fail, they heard 

 from afar the hoarse cries of the Guacharo birds. 

 These birds quit the cave only at nightfall, especi- 

 ally when there is moonlight ; and Humboldt remarks 

 that it is almost the only frugivorous night-bird yet 

 known. It feeds on very hard fruits (an exception 

 to the rule among the Caprimulgidae), and the In- 

 dians assured him (though we place little dependence 

 on their statement) that it does not pursue either the 

 hard-winged insects or the moths that serve as the 

 food of this tribe of birds. It is, he states, difiicult 

 to form any idea of the horrible noise made by thou- 

 sands of the Guacharo birds in the dark recesses of 

 the cavern, whence their shrill and piercing cries 

 strike upon the vaulted rock, and are repeated by 

 the echo in the depths of the grotto. By fixing 

 torches of copal to the end of a long pole, the 

 Indians showed the nests of these birds fifty or sixty 

 feet above the heads of the explorers, in funnel- 

 shaped holes, with which the cavern-roof is pierced 

 like a sieve. 



Once a year, near midsummer, the Guacharo 

 cavern is entered by the Indians. Armed with poles, 

 they ransack the greater part of the nests, while the 

 old birds hover over the heads of the robbers, as if 

 to defend their brood, uttering horrible cries. The 

 young which fall down are opened on the spot. 

 The peritoneum is found loaded with fat, and a 

 layer of the same substance on the abdomen 

 forms a kind of cushion between the bird's legs. 

 At the period above-mentioned, which is generally 

 known at Caripe by the designation of " the oil- 

 harvest," huts are built by the Indians with palm 

 leaves, near the entrance and even in the very porch 

 of the cavern. There the fat of the young birds just 

 killed is melted in clay pots over a brushwood fire ; 

 and this fat is named butter or oil (manteca or 

 aceite) of the Guacharo. It is half-liquid, transpa- 

 rent, inodorous, and so pure that it will keep above 

 a year without becoming rancid. In the kitchen of 

 the monks of the convent of Caripe no other oil is 

 used, and Humboldt never found that it imparted 

 a disagreeable taste or smell to the aliments. The 

 quantity of very pure manteca collected does not 

 exceed 150 or 160 bottles, each being sixty cubic 

 inches ; the rest, which is less transparent, is pre- 

 served in large earthen vessels : the whole hardly 

 seems to correspond with the immense annual car- 

 nage of birds."* The use of the Guacharo oil is very 

 ancient, and the race of Guacharo birds would have 

 been extinct long since if several circumstances had 

 not contributed to its preservation. The natives, 

 withheld by superstitious fears, seldom dare to pro- 

 ceed far into the recesses of the cavern. Humboldt 

 had great difficulty in persuading them to pass be- 

 yond the outer part of the cave, the only portion of 

 it which they visit annually to collect the oil ; and 

 the whole authority of the Padres was necessary to 

 make them penetrate as far as the spot where the 

 floor rises abruptly at an inclination of sixty degrees, 

 and where a small subterraneous cascade is formed 

 by the torrent. In the minds of the Indians this 

 cave, inhabited by nocturnal birds, is associated 

 with mystic ideas, and they believe that in the deep 

 recesses of the cavern the souls of their ancestors 

 sojourn. They say that man should avoid places 

 which are enlightened neither by the sun nor the 

 moon ; and " to go and join the guacharoes " means 

 to rejoin their fathers — in short, to die. At the en- 

 trance of the cave the magicians and poisoners per- 

 form their exorcisms to conjure the chief of the evil 

 spirits. It appears also, as another cause of pre- 

 servation, that Guacharo birds inhabit neighbouring 

 caverns too narrow to be accessible to man, and 

 from these perhaps the great cavern is repeopled; 

 for the missionaries declared that no sensible dimi- 

 nution of the birds had been observed. Young 

 birds of this species have been sent to the port of 

 Cumana, and have lived there several days, but 

 without taking any food — the seeds offered to them 

 not suiting them. The crops and gizzards of the 

 yoting birds opened in the cavern contained all sorts 

 of hard and dry fruits, which are conveyed to them 

 by their parents ; these are preserved, and under the 

 name of semilla del Guacharo (Guacharo seed) are 

 considered a celebrated remedy against intermittent 

 fevers, and sentto the sick at Cariaco and other low 

 localities where fever prevails. Our limits will not 

 allow us to pursue Humboldt's description farther ; 

 and we must content ourselves with referring the 

 reader to the ' Narrative ' for many interesting de- 



• The author remarks that this branch of industry reminds one of 

 the harvest of piReon's oil, of which some thousands of barrels were 

 formerly collected in Carolina from the younj^ of tlie I'assenger Pigeon, 

 JicttfpitU:'/ migratoria. (CoLVUBlD.i', vol. vil., p. 373.) 



