396 CHVCK-WILUS -WIDOW. 



and the superstitious even scared. I have heard their call-notes near my open bed-room 

 window, where a large night jasmine wafted its fragrance through the invigorating air, 

 but to me they always had a very pleasing effect. When the short twilight of Florida is 

 fading into night, these birds emerge from the secluded retreats, which the dense and" 

 gloomy forests afford them and in which they invariably pass the day, appearing frequently 

 in the neighborhood of man. In such places, especially in the cow yard and around the 

 stable, it is sure to find a profuse supply of all kinds of flying insects, its sole food. 

 The true home of the Chuck-will's-widow are the States bordering the Gulf and 

 south Atlantic, north to the Indian Territory, southern Illinois, and the St. James River. 

 In its most northern habitat it is seldom met with, being scarce even in the vicinity of 

 Charleston, S. C. I have observed the bird regularly in Texas, but not in such abun- 

 dance as in Florida. Its favorite haunts are the deep, dark forests near water, where 

 it inhabits shady glades perfectly safe from intruders. During day-time it is usually 

 found on the ground among old leaves, or it sits lengthwise on an old log. When 

 flushed, it flies noiselessly in a straight course through the forest. Its peculiar color 

 harmonizes admirably with the old leaves on the ground or with the partly decayed 

 wood of postrate forest "giants. 



Although the peculiar chuck-will's-widow is usually uttered while the bird rests 

 on the ground or on an old stump or log, there is no doubt that it also resounds while 

 it is circling around in quest of fljring insects. The notes are somewhat ventriloquial, 

 often appearing as if they come from above, from behind, or from a great distance. 

 During all the time while we are listening the bird sits, perhaps, on an old log or on 

 the ground just in front of us. When heard in a short distance, the call is given with 

 startling energy and is repeatfed and poured forth in a very hurried manner. When 

 mellowed by distance, it has a soft, dreamy cadence which has an extremely soothing 

 effect. To my ear the notes sound rather like cbuck-a-ra-we, or like whip-poor-a-will, 

 and according to Mr. Maynard, the Seminoles of the Everglades, the remnants of a 

 once powerful Indian nation, in allusion to its sounds call the bird Chic-co-bil-lar. 



In the forest regions of Texas the call of the Chuck-will's-widow^ is familiar to 

 every country Ijoy. While occupying a small cabin in the woods on the West Yegua 

 creek, the bird often alighted on the roof, interrupting my slumber by its constant call- 

 notes. It was everywhere common in the thickly wooded dells near my house, w^here 

 I also found its eggs repeatedly. These are deposited on the bare ground, usually 

 among some old leaves. When I looked a second time for the eggs, they had invariably 

 disappeared. It is a well-known fact, that the old birds carry the eggs as well as the 

 very small young away to a safer place in their capacious mouths. The eggs are two 

 in number, and the spot chosen for them is in the darkest and most secluded part of 

 the forest. Their ground-color is a pinkish-buff, being spotted and marked over the 

 entire surface with dark purplish-brown, and cloudings of a grayish-lavender color. 

 They closely resemble those of the Whippoorwill, 



The food of these rather large nocturnal birds consists of large flying insects, such 

 as moths and beetles, etc., for which purpose their mouths are admirably adapted, 

 "opening with a prodigious expansion, and assisted by numerous long bristles, which 

 prevent the escape of an insect once within their enclosure." It does not fly around in 



