1912 J Taylor: Birds and Reptiles of Northern Nevada. 369 



Phalaenoptilus nuttalli nuttalli (Audubon) 



Nuttall Poor-will 



Distribution. — Observed on the open desert and in the moun- 

 tains to an altitude of 7000 feet. Ridgway (1877, p. 567) found 

 poor-wills ranging to 8000 feet. It was most numerous in the 

 vicinity of Big Creek Ranch and Canon. We found the species 

 predominantly in Upper Sonoran zone. 



Habits. — Poor-wills were flushed in the sagebrush in the 

 vicinity of our lower stations, escaping by their characteristic 

 erratic flight. Frequently a poor-will or a pair of them would 

 appear in camp in the evening, perch with seeming stupidity 

 for a few moments on the ground or on a convenient boulder 

 sometimes within a few feet of the observer, and presently zig- 

 zag away on an insect hunt. 



Call-notes heard comprise the usual "poor-will! poor-will!" 

 and a clucking call heard when the bird is flushed, which may be 

 rendered by the syllables ' ' quut ! quut ! ' ' 



Three specimens (nos. 9157-9159) were preserved. 



Chordeiles virginianus hesperis Grinnell 



Pacific Nighthawk 



Distribution. — Occurred generally over the entire region. 

 Most numerous along the foothills and upon the broad flats 

 (6000 feet) of the mountains, its zonal distribution being chiefly 

 Transition. 



The American Ornithologists Union Check-list (1910, p. 199) 

 does not include Nevada in the citation of the breeding range of 

 Chordeiles virginianus hesperis. This record for northern Hum- 

 boldt County thus constitutes a substantial extension of the 

 breeding range as therein outlined. 



Habits. — At Big Creek Ranch nighthawks were frequently 

 seen flying overhead in broad daylight, sometimes even as late 

 as ten or eleven o 'clock A.M. They were observed in the evening 

 flying about over the small lake on the Duffer Peak Meadow 

 (8400 feet) capturing insects. At intervals they left the lake 



