126 cassell's book of birds. 



South America, where they usually frequent such parts as are covered with brushwood ; they are also 

 constantly seen around the Indian villages, and are called Chiangos by the natives. Unlike most of 

 their congeners, they are very social and active, carrying on the pursuit of the insects upon which 

 they subsist in broad daylight. The Prince von Wied assures us that he only once saw any great 

 number of them together, and that was upon a large tract of land in the province of Bahia ; they 

 were flying fearlessly around the horses and cattle, apparently enjoying the intense heat of the sun, to 

 which they were exposed. Schomburghk describes their flight as equalling that of the Falcon in 

 swiftness, and the movements of their wings as resembling those of the Swallow. If disturbed, they 

 endeavour to conceal themselves from observation among the low grass, and exhibit so much dexterity 

 in evading pursuit, as to have given rise, among the Indians, to the strange fancy that the Nacundas 

 possess two pairs of eyes. As night approaches, their melancholy cry is constantly to be heard, as they 

 sweep in large parties around the trees, or over the fields, during their noisy and incessant pursuit of 

 food. Burmeister found a Nacunda's egg in some long grass under a bush ; it was almost cylindrical 

 in form, the shell yellowish white, thickly marked with three shades of brown. Azara states that this 

 species lays two eggs. 



The TWILIGHT NIGHT JARS (Chordeiles) are recognisable by their slender body, short 

 neck, and large head. Their wings, in which the second quill exceeds the rest in length, are long 

 and pointed. The tail is short, formed of broad, powerful feathers, and more or less forked at its 

 extremity ; the legs are smooth, and the toes short ; the centre toe being armed with a very decidedly 

 hooked and serrated claw. Their plumage is thick, composed of small feathers, and is brighter in 

 hue and more distinctly marked than that of most of their congeners. 



THE NIGHT FALCON. 



The Night Falcon (Chordeiks Virginianus), a well-known member of this group, is an inhabitant 

 of North and South America. Its length is about eight and a half, and its breadth from twenty to 

 twenty-one inches ; the wing measures seven inches and two-thirds. The upper part of the plumage 

 is brownish black, spotted with white and pale brownish red. The secondary quills are dotted with 

 brownish white, and the first five primaries have a broad stripe of white across their centre. The tail 

 is striped with brown and grey, its four exterior feathers being tipped with white ; the under side of 

 the body is greyish white, marked with undulating brown lines ; the throat is surrounded by a broad 

 white line. The female resembles her mate, but the brown parts are darker, and the whitish spots 

 redder, than in the plumage of the male. Her tail has no white spots at its extremity. 



"The Night Falcons," says Audubon, "make their appearance in Louisiana about the first of 

 April, during their migrations eastward, but never breed either in that State or in Mississippi. So 

 rapid is their transit through these parts of the country, that the flocks have entirely disappeared 

 within a few days of their arrival, whilst in the Southern States, on the contrary, they are often to 

 be met with from the fifteenth of August till October. These wandering parties generally fly over 

 the towns and villages, and settle from time to time upon the trees or houses, meanwhile uttering a 

 harsh, shrill note, that cannot fail to attract the attention of all who hear it. We have seen them in 

 Maine about June, and in the Central States somewhat earlier. These birds penetrate northwards as 

 far as New Brunswick, but are rarely or never met with in Labrador or Newfoundland." The flight 

 of the Night Falcons is light, animated, and capable of being long sustained, it is accompanied by 

 loud, shrill cries, as the birds alternately soar above the summits of lofty mountains, or, rapidly sinking, 

 continue their course close to the surface of the water. During such times as they are trying 

 to attract the attention of the female part of the community, their evolutions become almost 



