SWIPTa 230 



before the ground is reached In- < lu-< ks hi* rapid descent by an abrupt 

 turn, and on l.-i-ur.-:y wing npiin mounts upward to repeat this game 

 of sky-coasting. At the ni'-un-nt the turn is made one may hear a 

 ni>lung. laming *oiunl, which, us writer have remarked, can Ixs imi- 

 tated in tone by blowing acrom the bung-hole of any empty barrel. It 

 is made by the passage of tin- air through the bird's primaries. 



In late summer Nighthawks gather in large flocks and begin their 

 southward migrations. When flying the white mark on their primaries 

 is a conspicuous character, mid has the appearance of being a hole in 

 the bird's wing. 



4 2 Ob. C. V. chapman! (Couti). Fi<>i:n>\ NK.IITIIAWK; BULL-BAT. 

 Similar to the preceding, but smaller, uin I with the white and eream-butf 

 markiuga or the upjwr part* more numerous. L., 8-60; W., 7'10; T., 4-10. 



Kanyt. Breed* in Florida and westward <>n the (lulf coast; south in win- 

 ter to South America. 



The WKKTKKX NIOIITIIAWK (4SOa. C. r. hrnryi), a near relative of our npe- 

 ciea, hat been recorded from Waukegan, HI. 



FAMILY MICROPODID^E. SWIFTS. 



The seventy-five known species of Swifts are di>trilmted through- 

 out the greater part of the world. About one half this number are 

 American, but only four are found in North America. Swifts are 

 generally found associated in scattered companies, and when roosting 

 or nesting are eminently gregarious. Hollow trees and caves are their 

 natural retreats, but in some parts of the world chimneys are now used 

 exrlusively. 



They feed entirely while flying, and with their unusually long 

 wings and small, compactly feathered bodies possess unrivaled powers 

 of flight. Swifts are popularly confused with Swallows, but the re- 

 semblance is only sujH-rficial and exists chiefly in the similarity of 

 their feeding habits, while the structural differences between the two 

 are numerous and important. 



423. Chaetum pelagic* < I.ii,n.\. CIIIMNKY SWIFT; CIIIMNKT 

 "SWALLOW." (See Fig. 89.) Ad, Entire plumage fu--'-ii*, more grayUh on 

 the throat; a Rooty black npot before the eye; nhafu of the tail-feat! 

 u-n<ling beyond the vane*. L., 5-48; W., 4-4; T., 1-90; II. fn-m V, -15. 



Kangt, Eafltern Nrth America; breed* from Florida to Labrador; win- 

 tent in Central America. 



mct'-n, abundant S. K.. Apl. 15 to Oct. 10. Sin k ' Situ:. o.iiirn.n 

 8. R., Apl. 19 to Oct. 23. Cambridge, abundant S. K.. Apl. -:, t.. S.-pt. 80. 



A'ed, * brackctlike ha- lot :' .lead twigH ^lu<-<l t'^cthcr with aliva; at- 

 tached to the wall of a chimney, generally about ten feet from the top, by 



