CAl'RIMULGID.E — THE GOATSUCKERS. 4()*] 



In some ol' tlie i)e(;uliiiiitics of its breeding the Mosquito-Hawk displays 

 sevoml very iinirked variations ol' luibit from tlie Wliipjjoorwill. Whilii 

 the latter always deposits its eyys under the cover of shady trees and in 

 thick w(ji)ds, tiiese l)irds select an ojien rock, a barren heath, or an exposed 

 liillside for their breedinj,'-pliice. This is not iinfreciuently in wild spots in the 

 vicinity of a wood, but is always o))en to the sun. I have even known the 

 eygs carelessly dropi)ed on the bare <,'round in a corner of a jjotato-field, and 

 have found the feniale sittinji' on her eggs in all tiie bright ghire of a noon- 

 day sun in June, and to all a])i)earanee undisturbed by its brilliance. A 

 nujre eonnnou situation for the eggs is a slight hollow of a bare rock, the 

 dark weather-beaten shades of which, with its brown and slate-colored 

 mosses and liciiens, reseuiltling both the parent and the egg in their color- 

 ing, are well adaj)ted to sci'cen them from observation or detection. 



The great abundance of insect life of certain kinds in the vicinity of our 

 large cities has of late years attracted these bird;:, Each summer their 

 number in Boston has ]ierce]itibly increased, and through June and July, 

 at almost all hours of the day, most esjiecially in the afternoon, they may 

 be seen or heard sailing high in the air over its crowded streets. The 

 modern style of house-building, with tint Mansard roofs, has also added to 

 the iiulucements, aflbrdiiig safe and convenient shelter to the birds at night, 

 and serving also for the deposition of their eggs. In quite a numl)er of in- 

 stances in the summers of 1870 and 1871 they were known to lay their 

 eggs and to rear their j'oung on the flat roofs of houses in the southern and 

 western sections of the city. I have also been informed by the late Mr. 

 Turnbull, of Philadelphia, that the flat roofs of large warehouses near the 

 river in that city are made similar use of. 



If a])pro<ached when sitting on her eggs, the female will suffer herself to 

 be almost trodden on before she will leave them, and when she does it is 

 only to tumble at the feet of the intruder and endeavor to draw him iiway 

 from her treasures by well-feigned lameness and pretended disability. Her 

 imitation of a wounded bird is so perfect as to deceive almost any one not 

 aware of her cunning devices. 



The eggs of this bird are always two in inimber, elliptical in shape, 

 and equally obtuse at either end. They exhibit marked variations in size, 

 in ground-color, and in the shades and niunber of their markings. In cer- 

 tain characteristics and in their general elfect they fire alike, and all resem- 

 ble oblong-oval dark-colored pebble-stones. Their safety in the ex])osed 

 positions in which they are laid is increased by this resemblance to the 

 stones among which they lie. They vary in length from l.'M) to 1.13 inches, 

 and in breadth from .84 to .94 of an inch. Their ground is of various 

 shades of stone-color, in some of a dirty white, in others with a tinge of 

 yellow or blue, and in yet others a clay-('()lor. The markings are more or 

 less dift'used over the entire egg, and difi'er njore or less with each specimen, 

 the prevailing coloi^s being varying Shades of slate and of yellowish-brown. 



