6 Toe Orrawa Naruratist. [May 
an 
NESTING OF THE NIGHT-HAWK IN OTTAWA 
A Bit or NATuRE-STUDY ON ONE’S Own HOUvuSEToP. 
: By G. EIFRIG. 
The first night-hawks or bullbats (Chordeiles virginianus) of 
the season 1904 that came to my notice, I saw sailing about over 
the eastern part of the city on May t1th. This interesting bird 
has of late years changed its nesting habits to accommodate itself 
to the encroachments of civilization. Many individuals of the 
species have forsaken their natural nesting or rather breeding 
places—since they build no nests whatever—that is, dry open 
fields and rocky ledges, and now simply deposit their usual set of 
two eggs on some of the many flat-roofed houses in the cities. My 
house-having a so-called deck-roof, with a balustrade around the 
gravel-covered ‘‘ deck,” I wondered whether this might not prove 
attractive enough for one of the night-hawk couples to go to house- 
keeping on it. However, on account of an absence from the city 
I did not get to look until May 28th. As I lifted the cover from 
the manhole leading up to the deck, away flew a night-hawk from 
the gravel. I looked at the place vacated by her, but for several 
minutes saw no eggs, until I finally discovered one right before 
me, where I had been looking all the time. It measured 1.20 x .86 
, the ground color was dull olive-gray, irregularly blotched and 
eae with blackish-brown and thus being very difficult to detect 
among the variously colored gravel. 
The bird had not flown far, but squatted cnet as this 
bird and the whippoorwill usually do, on one of the ridges of the 
roof nearby. No other egg was laid, perhaps, because the bird 
evidentiy had been hurt on one wing ; some of the greater wing 
coverts over the secondaries were missing as through a pebble or 
bullet had passed through, which however, did not incapacitate 
her from flying. After several visits she did no longer fly off, but 
allowed of close approach, and as a perfectly quiet sitter before a 
camera, though only three feet away, would have delighted any 
photographer. The male, much more conspicuous and pretty than 
his demure little mate by reason of the white band across the 
throat and the white spots on wings and tail, would sometimes 
