ONTARIO. 



Early in April, if the weather is mild, the loud cackling call 

 of the "Higholder " may be heard from his perch at the top of a 

 tall dead limb, where he watches to welcome his comrades as 

 they hourly arrive from the south. For a week or two at this 

 season they are very abundant, but many soon pass on farther 

 north, and the others are distributed over the country, so that 

 they are less frequently seen. 



In habits this species differs considerably from all the other 

 members of the family. It is more terrestrial, being often 

 observed on the ground, demolishing ant hills and devouring 

 the inmates, for which achievement its curved bill and long 

 slimy tongue are admirably adapted. It is also fond of fruit, 

 and of corn, either green or ripe. 



It is by no means confined to the forest, but is often seen 

 peeping from its hole in a stub by the roadside. When 

 alighting on a tree it perches on a bough in the ordinary 

 manner, being seldom seen clinging to the trunk like other 

 members of the family, except when entering its nest. In 

 Southern Ontario it is seen till late in October, but has not 

 been observed during the winter. 



ORDER MACROCHIRES. GOATSUCKERS, SWIFTS, ETC. 

 SUBORDER CAPRIMULGI. GOATSUCKERS, ETC. 

 FAMILY CAPRIMULGID^E. GOATSUCKERS, ETC. 



GENUS ANTROSTOMUS GOULD. 



170. ANTROSTOMUS VOCIFERUS (WiLs.). 417. 



Whip-poor-will. 



General color of the upper-parts, dark brownish-gray, streaked and 

 minutely sprinkled with brownish-black. Quills and coverts dark brown, 

 spotted in bars with light brownish-red. Four middle tail feathers like those 

 of the back, the three lateral white in their terminal half. Throat and breast 

 similar to the back with a transverse band of white on the foreneck ; rest of 

 the lower-parts paler than above and mottled. Female similar, but with the 

 lateral tail feathers reddish-white toward the tip only, and the band across 

 the forehead pale yellowish-brown, 



HAB. Eastern United States to the Plains, south to Guatemala. 



171 



