76 TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 



especially its head with the enor- 

 mous wide mouth parts, a photo 

 was taken of its head and repro- 

 duced herein. 



The bird was twice as large 

 as a bullbatj which it resembled 

 somewhat jn its general striped 

 coloring of the body, wings and 

 tailfeathers, and it measured twen- 

 ty inches from tip to tip of the 

 outspread wings. Though in 

 close search for a nest for y3ars 

 I never could trace one — neither 

 on the plains or forests, nor at any 



ing remnants of some large beetle 

 species. 



The photo shows the head 

 parts in about normal size — a 

 side view of same, with partly 

 opened mouth. The eyes are very 

 large and the upper part of the 

 bill is sharply curved — like the 

 bill of a hawk. On both sides 

 of the upper bill numbers of long 

 hair bristles are present — charac- 

 teristic of the goatsucker species. 



It is exceedingly rare that 

 such specimen should lie captured, 

 especially in day time, as the 



Rivulet Aun Forest, Western Mountain Regions, Near the Gallagher 

 Ranch, the Haunts op the Whip-poor-will, Etc. 



museum of Texas bird specimens. 

 It was of course generally re- 

 gretted the mistake was made 

 of shooting this handsome- and 

 u_seful_ bird, but it also served to 

 give it a close inspection; and 

 the examination of its gullet and 

 stomach showed that its food 

 consisted exclusively of insects, 

 as the stomach contained the 

 remnants of a large number of 

 various beetles — all in small frag- 

 ments of the legs, wings, etc., 

 partly predigested— most parts be- 



Whip-poor-will is a strictly noc- 

 turnal bird — and one that always 

 delights the heart of the night 

 traveler, farmer, or camper with 

 its melodious, inimitable song — 

 resembling somewhat the name 

 given this bird. It abounds quite 

 numerously in the western moun- 

 tainous regions, in the dense 

 forest woods, where, in the stillness 

 of the night, it delights the traveler 

 with its merry song. Often two 

 or more Whip-poor-wills are heard 

 a far distance away — one re- 



