THE 2s"IGHTHAWK. 165 



descends rajiidlv from high above, the vibration caused by the air passino- 

 through the primaries producing a peculiar booming sound which has been 

 compared to tliat made by blowing tlu'ough the bunghole of an enipt-\- barrel; 

 this comes perhaps as near to it as it can be described. It is amazing to see 

 what perfect control these birds have over themselves during this peculiar 

 performance ; descending as they do almost with the ra^^idity of a lightning 

 flash, one would think they could not possibly aiTest their downward course in 

 time to prevent being dashed to the ground; but at the proper moment, bv a 

 single reverse movement of their wings, they rise in a gi'adual cm-ve, to resume 

 their flight or repeat the same performance. This aerial plav seems to be 

 principally contined to the mating and breecHng season. I have never oljserved 

 it later in the year. 



On the ground, however, the Xighthawk does not show to such good advan- 

 tage and its movements here are slow, unsteady, and evidenth- more or less 

 laborious. Its food consists mainly of insects, such as flies and mosquitoes, small 

 beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, and the smaller night-flying motlis, and I believe 

 that all are caught on the wing. It must be considered as an eminenth- useful 

 and beneficial bird and deserves the fullest protection. Unfortunatelv, however, 

 the xsighthawk is considered as a legitimate game bird in certain sections, and 

 many are killed yearly for food, as well as for sport, simply to show the 

 gunner's skill in marksmanship; and the good they do through the destruction 

 of millions of troublesome insects is entirely lost sight of. Its f\ivorite haunts 

 are the edges of forests and clearings, burnt tracts, meadow lands along river 

 bottoms, and cultivated fields, as well as the flat mansard roofs in many of otir 

 larger cities, to which it is undoubtedly attracted by the large amount of food 

 readily obtainable in such localities, especially about electric lights, and also 

 the convenient and secure nesting sites afforded on the gravel-covered smfaces 

 of the roofs, which may be found everywhere in abundance. Dui-ing the heat 

 of the day the Xighthawk may be found resting on horizontal limbs of trees, 

 on fence rails, the flat surface of some lichen-covered rock, on stone walls, 

 old logs, chimney tops, and on railroad tracks. When f)erclied on the limb of 

 a tree, a log, or a fence rail, it always sits lengthwise, and excepting during the 

 mating and breeding season I have rarely seen one on the ground. 



Stricth" speaking, the Xighthawk is not a forest bird, as it onlv frequents 

 their outskirts, or extensive clearings and burnt tracts, while it avoids the denser 

 and heavier growth of timber. It does not object to sunshine like the Whip- 

 poor-will and the Chuck- will's- widow, and apparently is not affected by the light 

 in the way they are. 



In New England and most of the other Northern States nidification rarelv 

 commences before the first week in June (more often during the second), and 

 continues well into July. The earliest date I know of on which its eggs have 

 been taken is May 27 in southern i\Iichigan; the latest, July 19 in southern 

 Pennsylvania. In the more southern parts of its range it usuallv nests in the 

 first half of ]\Iay, and young are occasionally found bv the end of this month. 

 Like the rest of the CajjrimuJgidce, the Xighthawk makes no nest, but deposits its 



