400 NIGHTHAWK. 



is of various shades of stone-color, in some of a dirty white, in others with a tinge of 

 yellow or blue, and in yet others of clay-color. The markings are more or less diffused 

 over the entire egg, and differ more or less w^ith each specimen, the prevailing colors 

 being varying shades of slate and of yellowish-brown. 



"If approached when sitting on her eggs, the female will suffer herself to be almost 

 trodden on before she will leave them, and when she does, it is only to tumble at the 

 feet of the intruder and endeavor to draw him away from her treasures by well-feigned 

 lameness and pretended disability. Her imitation of a wounded bird is so perfect as to 

 deceive almost any one not aware of her cunning devices." (Dr. T. M. Brewer.) 



The food of the Nighthawk consists wholly of insects. It swallows great numbers 

 of moths, beetles, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, crickets, etc., and for this reason alone it 

 is an extremely useful bird. All who have the wellfare of our country, and the more 

 ideal life of our people at heart, should do all in their power to protect our beautiful 

 native birds, and among them the Nighthawk. Notwithstanding its beauty and utility, 

 great numbers of these birds are shot annually in mere wantonness, their swift flight 

 making them an attractive target for heartless and senseless gunners. May it be 

 remarked here that these birds are of far greater value to mankind than the worthless 

 idler who kills them. — The term Nighthawk is not an appropriate one, as the bird never 

 hunts for insects in the darkness, and as it has nothing in common with the Hawks. 

 The early settlers called it Goatsucker because of its resemblance to the European Night- 

 jar, which from time immemorial has been supposed by the ignorant to rob the goats 

 of their milk at night. In the South it is known in many localities under the name of 

 Bullbat. This ^.Uudes to its booming sound to which I have referred in the foregoing. 

 There are several well established varieties of this bird. The Western Night- 

 hawk, Cbordeiles virginianus benryi CouES, inhabits the western part of the United 

 States, from the Great Plains to the Pacific coast, and from British Columbia south to 

 •northern South America. The Florida Nighthawk, C virginianus cbapmani Scott, is 

 confined to Florida and the Gulf coast of Texas. 

 NAMES: Nighthawk, Nightjar, Goatsucker, Mosquito-hawk, Pisk, Bullbat. 



SCIENTIFIC NAMES: Caprimulgus virginianus Gmel. (1788). CHOSDEILES VIRGINIANUS Swainson 

 (1831). Caprimulgus americanus Wils. (1813). Caprimulgus popetue Vieill. (1807). Cbordeiles 

 popetue Baird (1858). 

 DESCRIPTION: "Male, above greenish-black, but with little mottling on the head and back. Wing-coverts 

 varied with grayish ; scapulars with yellowish-rufous. A nuchal band with fine gray mottling, behind 

 which is another coarser one of rufous spots. A white V-shaped mark on the throat ; behind this is 

 a collar of .pale rufous blotches, and another on the breast ol grayish mottling. Under-parts banded 

 transversely with dull yellowi-sh or reddish-white and brown. Wing-quills quite uniformly brown. 

 The five outer primaries with a white blotch (about half an inch long) midway between the tip and 

 carpal joint, not extending on the outer web of the outer quill. Tail with a terminal white patch, 

 which docs not reach the outer edge of the feathers. Female without the caudal white patch, the white 

 tail-bands more mottled, the white of the throat mixed with reddish." 



Length, 9.50 inches; wing, 8.20; tail, 5.00 inches. (B. B. & R., 11, p. 401). 



Texan Nighthawk, Cbordeiles acutipennis texensis Ridgw. This species inhabits 

 the southern border of the United States, from Texas to southern California, north 

 to southern Utah. Dr. J. C. Merrill found it most plentiful just outside of Browns- 

 ville, and several sets of eggs were discovered within the fort. These are usually 

 deposited in exposed situations, among sparse chaparral, on the ground baked almost 

 as hard as brick by the intense heat of the sun. 



