62 THE NIGHT HAWK. 



Where is this bird found ? 



The Night Hawk is an inhabitant of all parts of the 

 United States, and is well known from Canada to 

 Florida. 



This bird by many is supposed to be the same with 

 the whip-poor-will. But this is a mistake ; for though 

 there is a resemblance between the two in appear- 

 ance, in their habits they differ materially. The whip- 

 poor-will is seen very rarely, and then only in the 

 woods, where it flies only a short distance, when start- 

 ed, and lights again suddenly on a rock, or fallen tree. 

 It is a bird of night, and does not fly about in the day 

 time. The Night Hawk, though most commonly seen 

 at the dusk of evening, is not so far a night bird as to 

 be unable to fly in the day time, but is often seen at 

 noon day, flying slowly along high in the air. 



There is also a difference which will distinguish 

 these two birds at once, when taken. The whip-poor- 

 will has a kind of beard, consisting of many long hairs, 

 which grow out of the inside of the upper mandible. 

 The Night Hawk has nothing of this kind. 



The Night Hawk is a bird of very peculiar man- 

 ners and habits, and on these accounts is easily known 

 from the other fowls of the air. 



They are birds of passage, and commonly appear in 

 New England about the beginning of May. They 

 are then seen only in the evening, flying high in the 

 air, and apparently pursuing their prey, which con- 

 sists of insects. 



Sometime in May the female lays her eggs; but 

 contrary to the practice of nearly every other land 



