306 LAND-BIRDS. 



purpose of roosting and of nesting." Their nests are attached 

 to some more or less perpendicular surface, and are con- 

 structed partly or even whoUy of a gummy saliva. The eggs 

 are white and rather elongated. 



The Goatsuckers are generally nocturnal or crepuscular, 

 and, as a rule, do not fly about in the day-time, unless when 

 cloudy. When resting, they do so on the ground, or perch 

 lengthwise on a bough or fence. They are insectivorous, cap- 

 turing moths and smaller insects at some height in the air, 

 also migratory and often gregarious. They are larger than 

 the Swifts, who are also somewhat crepuscular, and their plu- 

 mage is much variegated. They build no nest, but lay two 

 eggs on the ground, or near it. There are two American 

 genera. 



I. Antrostomus. Bristles, very conspicuous ; tail, rounded. 

 Birds strictly nocturnal. 



II. Chordeiles. Bristles, short ; tail, forked ; wings, very 

 long. (Fig. 16.) 



I. ANTROSTOMUS. 



A. vociFEKUS. Whippoorwill. "Night-jar." A well- 

 known summer resident throughout New England.* 



a. About 9|- inches long. Tail, rounded. Throat- 

 patch, and tips of outer tail-feathers, in ^ white, in § light 

 brown. Crown, black-streaked. Otherwise indescribably 

 variegated or mottled with several quiet colors. The Chuck- 

 wilVs-widow (^A. carolinensis) of the Southern States pos- 

 sesses a very similar coloration, but is a foot long. 



6. The eggs are laid on the ground in some dry part 

 of the woods, no nest being made, unless a slight hollow be 

 scratched among the fallen leaves. They are elliptical, aver- 

 age 1.25 X .85 of an inch, and are creamy, spotted rather 

 sparsely, chiefly with lilac and lavender. In Massachusetts 

 two eggs are laid about the first of June. 



c. The Whippoorwills, wherever known, are well known, 

 and yet by the common people they are rarely seen. Were 

 it not for their loud and famous notes, they might well be 



* A common summer resident throughout New England. — W. B. 



