The Night Hawk 185 



are seen in pairs at such times, but occasionally there are num- 

 bers of them assembled together. It is then a most interesting 

 sight to watch them, while engaged in feeding, skimming close 

 to the ground or over the waters of some pond or lake, gliding 

 swiftly along in all kinds of serpentine gyrations with the ut- 

 most grace and ease and no matter how limited or numerous 

 the number of them may be, no one of them will ever get in the 

 way of the other. To me that part of the flight of the night- 

 hawk is most interesting which takes place just in advance of 

 an approaching storm. From my office window I have often 

 watched them with amazement. Then as Major Bendire says 

 it soars and it flaps, it twists and it turns, it mounts perpendic- 

 ularly into the air until it seems to be up in the clouds when 

 in an instant it shoots down with lightning rapidity almost to 

 the earth, and then, by a single reverse movement of the wings, 

 turns abruptly and ascends to resume its flight or repeat the 

 same performance. As the bird thus drops suddenly through 

 the air it makes a whirring sound that Nuttal likens to the 

 "rapid turning of a spinning wheel, or a strong blowing into 

 the bung-hole of an empty hogshead." Others describe it as a 

 "booming." There has been much conjecturing as to how this 

 noise is made. It is now pretty generally conceded that it is 

 made by the air pas*ong through the bird's stiffened wing- 

 quills. It has but one note, and that is like the "scaip" of the 

 woodcock. 



When not in flight the nighthawk sits very still and it is 

 difficult to find owing to its protective coloration and the posi- 

 tion which it assumes. While it can perch like other birds, it 

 does not do so. On the contrary, if it is in a tree or on a log it 

 sits lengthwise with the limb or log, on which it is and pre- 

 sents much the appearance of a knot or broken limb. Those 

 in the city rest on the roofs of the buildings and in doing so 

 sit very flat and close to the roof and are almost imperceptible. 

 From the lunch room, which is on the eighth story of the 

 building in which we have our offices, I have frequently while 

 taking my lunch seen one thus sitting on the roof of another 

 building. 



As to its anatomy and food Prof. F. E. L. Beal says : "The 

 body of the nighthawk is much smaller than one would sup- 



