CAl'RIMULGID.t: — THE GOATSLX'KEKi^. 40:5 



Tn some of tlie ])f(uliiiiities of its breeding' the Mosquito-Hawk displays 

 several very iiiarke<l variations of lial>it from the Whippoorwill. Wliile 

 tlie hitter always ih'posits its e<,'_us under the cover of shady trees and in 

 tliiek woods, tliese hirds seleet an o]>en rock, a luirrcn heath, or an exposed 

 hillside for their hree<lin,i,'-j»laee. This is not unfreciuently in wild spots in the 

 vicinity of a wood, hut is always ojjt-n to the sun. I have even known the 

 eji«;s carelessly dropped on the l»are lu'round in a corner of a ])otato-tield, and 

 have found the female sittinLf on her eggs in all the bright glare (»f a noon- 

 day sun in June, and to all ap])earance undisturbed by its brilliance. A 

 more common situation for the (\ggs is a slight hollow of a bare rock, the 

 dark weather-beaten shades of whieli, with its brown and slate-colored 

 mosses and liehens, resemliling both the parent and the egg in their color- 

 ing, are well adapted to screen them from observation or detection. 



Tlie great abundance of insect life of certain kinds in the vicinity of our 

 large cities has of hite years attracted these bird:^ Each summer their 

 number in IJoston has perceptibly increased, and through June and July, 

 at almost all hours of the day, most especially in the afternoon, they may 

 be seen or heard sailin*' high in the air over its crowded streets. The 

 modern style of house-building, with thit Mansard roofs, has also added to 

 the inducements, affording safe and convenient shelter to the birds at night, 

 and serving also for the deposition of their eggs. In quite a number of in- 

 st.inces in the summers of 1870 and 1871 thev were known to lav their 

 eijgs and to rear their youni' on the tlat roofs of houses in the southern and 

 western sections of the city. I have also been informed by the late Mr. 

 Turnbull, of rhiladeli)hia, that the Hat roofs of large warehouses near the 

 river in that city are made similar use of. 



If api)roached when sitting on her eggs, the female will suffer herself to 

 be almost trodden on before she will leave them, and when she does it is 

 only to tundde at the feet of the intruder and endeavor to draw him away 

 from her treasures by well-feigned lameness and pretended disability. Her 

 imitation of a wounded bird is so perfect as to deceive almost any one not 

 aware of her cunning devices. 



The eggs of this bird are always two in number, elliptical in shape, 

 and e(iually obtuse at either end. They exhibit marked variations in size, 

 in ground-color, and in the shades and number of their markings. In cer- 

 tain characteristics and in their general effect they are alike, and all resem- 

 ble oblong-oval dark-colored pebble-stones. Their safety in the exposed 

 positions in which they are laid is increased by this resemblance to the 

 stones among which they lie. They vary in length from 1.30 to 1.13 inches, 

 and in breadth from .84 to .94 of an inch. Their ground is of various 

 shades of stone-color, in some of a dirty white, in others with a tinge of 

 v^ellow or blue, and in vet others a clav-c<jlor. The markings are more or 

 less diffused over the entire egg, and differ more or less with each specimen, 

 the prevailing colors being varying shades of slate and of yellowish-brown. 



