150 The Wilson Bulletin— No. 96 



was the male. An orinthological friend who has studied the nest- 

 ing of the nighthawk assures me that the male broods the young 

 by day and the female by night. Certain it is that my experience 

 goes to prove the truth of the first part of his contention. 



June 24 the young were found to have grown considerably. The 

 pin feathers were well out. June 27 they were much larger and 

 had developed mottled feathers over their bodies. They squatted 

 perfectly motionless, with closed eyes, while the male did his best 

 to draw me away. Two days later a change had come over the 

 young birds. They no longer squatted motionless, but watched 

 my approach with bright eyes and suddenly, with outstretched 

 wings, wide open mouths and fierce hissings, rushed at me, evi- 

 dently warning me to keep my distance. The gape of the mouth 

 was prodigious and gave an excellent illustration of the bird's 

 natural fly-trap as he sweeps the atmosphere for flying insects. 

 Finding intimidation vain, the little fellows raised their wings and 

 ran swiftly across the roof. The wing spread was marvelous, — out 

 of all proportion to the size of the body, and marked the bird as 

 an aviator of the very first rank. The body measured four inches, 

 but the wing spread was fully twelve inches. As the bird ran, 

 with spread wings, elevated at a slight angle, the resemblance to 

 an aeroplane skimming along the ground and about to rise was 

 most striking. 



I was obliged to be absent from the city for a week, and when I 

 returned, July 8, the birds had flown. I cannot be sure of the 

 exact day of the laying of the eggs or the flight of the birds, but 

 the entire interval between must have been pretty close to thirty- 

 six days. 



Manley B. Townsend, 

 Secretary Audubon Society of New Hampshire. 



INCUBATION PERIOD OP KILLDEER, 



May 25, 1916, I had the pleasure of seeing for the first time the 

 Killdeer's nest and eggs, through the courtesy of Mr. Charles S. 

 Ludlow, local weather reporter, who for several years has collab- 

 orated with me in reporting bird migration and taking the Bird 

 Census. I have seen the downy young just able to run, once, 

 many years ago. The nest is about a mile north of Red Cloud, in 

 a fallow field that was sown last year broad-cast to cane, on a 

 barren knoll, with absolutely no protection but that of innocence, 

 which may be greater than we think. The dirt is scooped out the 

 size of my hand and is inlaid with thin, flat scraps of magnesian 

 sand shale averaging an inch long. While a few dead stems lie 

 with the stones, there is no appearnce of design in their presence. 



