142 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



opening about 4 feet high. With a foot grasping either side of the entrance he 

 gazed upon the intruder. Having comprehended the situation, he flew to another 

 tree, where he quietly awaited my inspection and departure. The hole was then 

 down about 15 inches. By April 7 it had reached a depth of about 20 inches, 

 and contained six fresh eggs, upon which the female was then sitting. As no 

 description has hitherto appeared of the eggs of this species it may be well to 

 present here the measurements of this set (No. 803, author's oological collec- 

 tion). They correspond exactly, both in color and general shape, with scores of 

 other eggs of this genus, and offer the following measurements in millimetres: 

 •28 by 22, 28 by 22, 28 by 22.5, 29 by 22, 29.5 by 22, 29.5 by 22;" or about 

 1.11 by 0.87, 1.11 by 0.87, 1.11 by 0.89, 1.14 by 0.87, 1.16 by 0.87, and 1.16 

 by 0.87 inches. 



There are no eggs of this species in the United States National Museum 

 collection. 



Family CAPRIMULGID^E. Goatsuckers, etc. 

 51. Antrostomus carolinensis (Gmelin). 



CHUCK- WILL'S- WIDOW. 



Gaprimulgus carolinensis Gmelin, Systema ISTatune, I, ii, 1788, 1028. 

 Antrostomus carolinensis Gould, Icones Avium, 1838. 



(B 111, C 264, R 353, C 396, U 416.) 



Geographical range : From the South Atlantic and Gulf States and the Lower 

 Mississippi Valley north to the southern portions of Virginia, Illinois, and Indiana, the 

 greater portion of Arkansas, southern Missouri, and the Indian Territory; west to Texas; 

 south in winter to the West India Islands, and through eastern Mexico and Central Amer- 

 ica to Colombia, South America. Casual in southern Kansas ; accidental in Massachusetts. 



The breeding range of Chuck-will's-widow, also locally known in South 

 Carolina as the "Dutch Whip-poor-will" or " Chip-the-red-oak-white-oak," and 

 in some of the West India Islands as the "Spanish Whip-poor-will," is coexten- 

 sive with its geographical distribution in the United States, excepting' the lower 

 Rio Grande Valley, in Texas. It is only a summer visitor over the greater 

 portion of its range with us, but, according to Mr. W. E. D. Scott, in "The Auk" 

 (Vol. VI, 1889, p. 252), "Some of these birds are resident on the Gulf coast of 

 Florida, at least as far north as Tarpon Springs, where in winter, in December and 

 January, they are rather rarer than at other seasons of the year." Mr. E. A. 

 Mcllhenny also tells me that they are common residents in southern Louisiana. 

 By far the greater number, however, retire farther south, wintering in the West 

 India Islands, as well as in Central America, and a few even pass the Isthmus of 

 Panama to Colombia, South America. They usually reenter the United States, 

 from their winter homes in the south, early in April, and move leisurely north- 

 ward to their breeding grounds, returning southward again about the beginning of 

 September. The males usually make their appearance on the breeding grounds 



