126 BIRD-LAND ECHOES. 



the insects rose from the damp depressions near by. 

 This I could see ; and now to meet them came the 

 night-hawks. To stand like a statue and heroi- 

 cally ignore the mosquitoes was very tiresome ; but 

 I was repaid. I saw more clearly and heard more 

 distinctly these strange birds of the gloaming and of 

 the night, for when the darkness deepened and every 

 object became indistinct, the whir of their wings and 

 their happy expressions of content still trembled in 

 the air. 



That the night-hawk seldom misses its aim, that it 

 is an expert in its line of insect-capturer, will not be 

 denied. In this respect I rank it next to the swallow 

 and superior to the pewee. 



After all, in this matter of catching flies, is it not 

 the truth that the "professionals" the tyrant fly- 

 catchers are the "amateurs," and not far advanced 

 at that ; while the " amateurs," if judged by their 

 measure of success, are the real " professionals" ? 



