THE HIGHTHAWK. 



[Chordeiles virginianus.) 



In the high, pale heaven he flies and calls; 

 Then swift, oh, swift, 

 On sounding wing 

 That hums like a string, 

 To the quiet glades where the gnat clouds drift 

 And the night moths flicker, he falls. 

 Then hark, the Nighthawk ! 



— Charles G. D. Roberts, 



The Nighthawk." 



It is to be regretted that the name 

 Nighthawk has been given to this bird 

 of our illustration, for it is misleading 

 and the latter part of the name is cer- 

 tainly a misnomer. It is not a hawk in 

 any sense of the term unless its long 

 wings may seem to resemble those of a 

 hawk. It is a perfectly harmless and 

 inoffensive bird, feeding upon insects 

 which it catches while on the wing. 

 The Nighthawks are not strictly noc- 

 turnal birds for they fly in the twilight 

 as well, and are not averse to hunt- 

 ing on the wing during the more somber 

 days. Possibly the name Nighthawk 

 may be sanctioned, as applied to. those 

 birds, if we take into consideration only 

 their long pointed wangs and their 

 method of flying which is quite hawk- 

 like. The enormous gape of their bills 

 assists them greatly in catching insects, 

 as they pass through the air in a free 

 and graceful flight. As they soar, at 

 times, apparently with motionless 

 wings, their sharp and hawk-like eyes 

 soon perceive any insect that may be 

 flying, when the birds with open beaks 

 will dart like a flash after their quarry 

 and it is probable that they seldom fail 

 in their aim. 



The Nighthawks are related to the 

 whip-poor-will, and they have been 

 classed in the same order of birds as 

 are the swifts and hummingbirds. This 

 is certainly an artificial rather than a 

 natural classification, for the Night- 

 hawks are not more than distantly re- 

 lated to either the swifts or the hum- 

 mingbirds. In the popular view, the 

 Nighthawk and the whip-poor-will are 

 commonly confounded, but they are 

 quite different both in characteristics and 

 habits. The whip-poor-will is more 

 strictlv nocturnal in its habits, and its 



weird and plaintive notes, as it calls its 

 own name, cannot be mistaken. On the 

 other hand, the note of the Nighthawk 

 is a loud and harsh whistled note, ut- 

 tered while on the wing. It may l^e 

 identified while flying, by the white bar 

 which plainly shows on the under sides 

 of the wings. Then, too, the males of 

 this interesting species have the curious 

 habit of taking "great parabolic head- 

 ers" from high in the air. At such 

 times, he shoots downward with a veloc- 

 ity that seems uncheckable, and it ap- 

 pears as if he would strike the earth 

 with great force, but he finally turns, 

 with a graceful curve, and flies upward. 

 At the moment of turning, a booming 

 sound is heard, which Mr. Nuttall has 

 likened to the hollow whizz produced 

 by "the rapid turning of a spinning- 

 wheel or a strong blowing into the 

 bung-hole of an empty hogshead." This 

 sound is produced by the rapid passage 

 of the air through the primaries of the 

 bird's wings. 



The Nighthawks are equally at home 

 in either forest or treeless regions, 

 though they prefer the more open 

 regions. During the warmer and 

 brighter portions of the day, and very 

 dark nights ; they rest by roosting upon 

 trees, rocks, logs, fences or on the 

 ground, but wherever they roost, the 

 coloring of their plumage harmonizes so 

 well with their environment that they 

 are not easily observed. Because of the 

 weakness of their feet and legs, they do 

 not perch crosswise on the limb, or other 

 object of like nature, upon which they 

 are resting, as do the majority of birds, 

 but stand or lie lengthwise upon it. They 

 are attracted to towns and cities because 

 of the abundance of insect life afforded 

 bv thicklv settled localities. 



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