238 NOTES ON THE 
woods during the entire summer. Almost uniformly, as soon 
as it became dark, the Whip-poor-will came onto a log not 
more than twenty yards from the rear of the house and poured 
forth his song for an hour or two when he would disappear, or 
rather his notes would be discontinued until after midnight, 
then they would again ring out clear and sonorously until the 
day dawned. I frequently caught sight of him in the bright 
moonlight nights and a few times in the twilight before he 
began his half-sad, half-cheery melody. They are rarely seen 
in the day time and then only by accident. At such times I 
have uniformly found them sitting either upon the ground or 
on an old log but slightly elevated above it. They are then 
apparently very stupid and will allow one to approach quite 
near them before flying, and when they do it is but a short 
distance to where they will alight again. They are universally 
distributed in timber and brush land over the State. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 
Bill remarkably small with tubular nostrils and the gape 
with long, stiff bristles; wings long, somewhat rounded, 
second quill longest, the primaries emarginated; tail rounded; 
plumage loose and soft. Bristles without lateral filaments; 
top of head ashy-brown, longitudinally streaked with black; 
terminal half of the tail feathers (except the four central) 
dirty-white on both outer and inner webs; iris dark hazel. No 
white on the tail of the female. 
Length, 10; wing, 6.50. 
Habitat, eastern United States to the plains. 
CHORDEILES VIRGINIANUS (Gettin). (420.) 
NIGHTHAWK. 
A very remarkable circumstance connected with this species 
was its appearance in Fillmore county on April 5th, 1884, (Dr. 
Hvoslef) and its disappearance again until May 12th. The 
time of its arrival has varied considerably through all the years 
of my personal observation of its habits here, but inno instance 
have I retained a record of it before the 30th of April. Asa 
general thing, I have found them here first about the 10th of 
May, and not unfrequently as late as the 20th. In the early 
history of the city where I reside, great numbers of the night- 
hawks could be seen at evening, or rather, beginning a little 
before sunset, and extending quite into the twilight, evidently 
feeding upon the abounding mosquitoes, which have become 
almost extinct in the city of late years. On warm, cloudy days, 
