GOATSUCKERS. 



309 



thickly and finely marked with lilac, dark brown, and some- 

 times slate-color. 



c. The Night "Hawks" have not been named alto- 

 gether appropriately, for, though to 

 a certain extent crepuscular (be- 

 longing to twilight or dusk), they 

 are not nocturnal. There is, how- 

 ever, a strong resemblance in their 

 general method of flight to that of 

 certain Hawks, as well as to that 

 of the Swifts, and the latter part of 

 their name is warranted by their 

 general appearance at a distance. 

 They fly with ease, and sometimes, 

 when favored by a wind, with much 

 rapidity. They often mount to a 

 great height, so as to be fairly lost 

 among the clouds, and comparative- 

 ly seldom skim over the earth, in 

 the manner of the WhippoorwiU. 

 They move through the air very in-egularly, and often change 

 their course at nearly every flapping of their wings, as they 

 dart about in the search of the winged insects upon which 

 they feed. They fly about freely in the day-time, especially 

 if it be cloudy, but they are generally rather silent in very 

 sunny weather. They occasionally alight upon the ground, 

 and move about, but whether in search of earth or insects I 

 am uncertain, — probably the former. 



The Night " Hawks " are common summer residents through- 

 out New England, but, according to Mr. AUen,^"^ do not win- 

 ter in Florida, as many Whippoorwills do. They usually 

 reach Massachusetts in the earlier part of May, or sometimes, 

 it is said, in April. Separate individuals or pairs are not un- 

 common, but they may often be seen migrating in companies, 

 containing even two dozen, for they are more or less gregari- 

 ous throughout the year. They show a fondness for pasture- 

 land and uncultivated districts, though quite common in 



'"' J. A. Allen, List of the Winter Birds of East Florida, with Annotations. 



Fig. 16. Night "Hawk." (i) 



