EEMAEKS: 



The name "Night Hawk " is very improperly applied to the species under consideration. Undoubtedly 

 it is most frequently seen between sundown and dark, and between dawn and sunrise, owing to the fact 

 that the insects upon which it feeds are at these times upon the wing. But at all hours of the day this 

 "Hawk" flies about, and not infrequently is heard or seen circling high in the air under the most glaring- 

 noonday sun. The cry of this bird is peculiar. It is sharp and penetrating, and repeated at short intervals, 

 as the bird wheels and circles about. Its timbre is such that it is impossible to estimate its distance or 

 direction. Now it seems to come from in front of you, now near by, now immediately it is behind and 

 far off, now overhead, but low, now again it can not be located; and when, eventually, the bird is discov- 

 ered by the eye, it is found that all the while it has been describing circles high in the air above you, 

 so high that the bird is with difficulty seen. 



Many people confound the Night Hawk with the Whip-poor-will, a clumsy mistake, as the points of 

 resemblance are hard to find, either in the appearance or habits of the two species. About dark the 

 Night Hawk goes to roost, and is in no sense a night bird, although crepuscular, as stated. The Night 

 Hawk is much attached to her eggs and young, and gives them the most watchful attention. She sits 

 closely upon her eggs, permitting herself to be almost grasped with the hand before she will fly. Driven 

 from her home, she does not fly away and suffer it to be despoiled, with apparent indiffence, as some birds 

 do, but she at once appears wounded, and fluttering at your feet, endeavors to draw you by strategy 

 from the spot. So well does she imitate a cripple that one is pretty apt to give chase before the decep- 

 tion is apparent. The eggs are difficult to find even when at your feet, owing to their protective colors; 

 and if you give chase to the bird, for even a few steps, the probabilities are that the eggs are lost, un- 

 less, indeed, you take the trouble to watch the bird return to her treasure or again flush her. 



In August and September the Night Hawk is generally seen in flocks, and in the evening is most 

 numerous about ponds and streams of water, on account of the abundance of insects at such places. Once 

 in September, just after sunset, I saw thousands of Night Hawks whirling and darting about over the 

 low land along the Scioto river near Chillicothe. This immense flock was probably made up of migrating 

 birds that had settled upon this spot for rest and food. 



On the wing the Night Hawk is very active, but owing to the innumerable angles and curves in- 

 harmoniously joined, its flight is far from graceful, yet it is light and easy. It alights frequently upon 

 a tree, but oftener upon a log or the ground. 



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