342 USEFUL BIRDS. 
almost invisible when seen from above as they squat on their 
natal rock. The mother either tries to drive an intruder away 
by approaching him with open mouth, or feigns lameness and 
so attempts to entice him into pursuit. 
It is probable that the Nighthawk is one of the most useful 
of all birds. It ranks next to the Flicker in the destruction 
of ants, and it takes them when they are flying and about to 
propagate. Professor Beal estimated that the stomachs of 
eighty-seven Nighthawks which he examined “contained not 
less than twenty thousand ants, and these were not half of 
the insect contents.” One Nighthawk’s stomach held remains 
of thirty-four May beetles. Great numbers of grasshoppers 
are caught by these birds. Potato beetles, cucumber beetles, 
leaf hoppers, bugs, and enormous quantities of gnats and mos- 
quitoes have been found in their stomachs. Nighthawks are 
absolutely harmless, as they never take fruit or grain, grass 
or vegetables. They are protected by law at all times, and 
should never be shot or molested. Unfortunately, they are 
now rare in parts of this Commonwealth where they were 
common years ago. 
Whip-poor-will. 
Antrostomus vociferus. 
Length. — About ten inches. 
Adult Male. — Above, finely mottled and barred with black, gray, and yellowish- 
brown; wings barred with black and brown, in general browner and not so 
dark as the Nighthawk; throat and upper breast blackish; other under 
parts buff, marked with blackish; a narrow white band just below throat, 
and terminal portion of three outer tail feathers white. 
Adult Female. — Similar, but band below throat buff, and tail feathers narrowly 
tipped with yellowish-white. 
Eggs.—On ground in woods; a creamy white, beautifully marked with shades 
of purple or lavender. 
Season. — May to September. 
In moonlit woods, through dark and shady dells, over 
wide pastures, and by the lone farmhouse door the Whip- 
poor-will flits softly through the silent night. Its flight 
is not as noiseless as that of an Owl; but the bird is even 
more mysterious than the Owls themselves. Its night 
flight and weird but melodious call have aroused supersti- 
tious fancies, until the Whip-poor-will has been accredited 
with all sorts of uncanny attributes ; nevertheless, it is, like 
