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CHUCK-W ILLS-WIDOW 



Caprimulgus carolinensis, Briss. 



PLATE IJI. Male akd Femalk. 



Our Goatsuckers, although possessed of great power of wing, are par- 

 ticularly attached to certain districts and locahties. The species now un- 

 der consideration is seldom observed beyond the limits of the Choctaw 

 Nation in the State of Mississippi, or the Carolinas, on the shores of the 

 Atlantic, and may with propriety be looked upon as the southern species 

 of the United States. Louisiana, Florida, the lower portions of Alabama 

 and Georgia, are the parts in which it most abounds ; and there it makes 

 its appearance early in spring, coming over from Mexico, and probably 

 still warmer climates. 



About the middle of March, the forests of Louisiana are heard to 

 echo with the well-known notes of this interesting bird. No sooner has 

 the sun disappeared, and the nocturnal insects emerge from their bur- 

 rows, than the sounds, " chucJc-zciirs-widow,'" repeated with great clear- 

 ness and power six or seven times in as many seconds, strike the ear of 

 every individual, bringing to the mind a pleasure mingled with a certain 

 degree of melancholy, which I have often found very soothing. The 

 sounds of the Goatsucker, at all events, forebode a peaceful and calm 

 night, and I have more than once thought, are conducive to lull the lis- 

 tener to repose. 



The deep ravines, shady swamps, and extensive pine ridges, are all 

 equally resorted to by these birds ; for in all such places they find ample 

 means of providing for their safety during the day, and of procuring food 

 under night. Their notes are seldom heard in cloudy weather, and 

 never when it rains. Their roosting places are principally the hollows of 

 decayed trees, whether standing or prostrate, from which latter they are 

 seldom raised during the day, excepting while incubation is in progress. 

 In these hollows I have found them, lodged in the company of several 

 species of bats, the birds asleep on the mouldering particles of the wood, 

 the bats clinging to the sides of the cavities. When surprised in such si- 

 tuations, instead of trying to effect their escape by flying out, they retire 

 backwards to the farthest corners, ruffle all the feathers of their body, 



