GOATSUCKERS, SWIFTS. ETC 



(420) Chordeiles virginianus 

 virginianus 



[Gmel.) (Gr., a musical instrument, evening) 

 NIGHTHAWK; BULL-B.\T. 

 Our most abundant and most often 

 obsen'ed sp:cies. Notice that it lias 

 no conspicuous rictal bristles; tliat 

 ihe primaries are black, crossed b_\- 

 a white band; that the chin and 

 throat are white (buSy on the 9 ) ; 

 and that the tail has a white band 

 across the middle (the 9 lacks this). 

 Less nocturnal than others o£ the 

 family. L., 9.75; W., 8.00; T., 4.50, 

 slightly forked. 



Range — Breeds throughout east- 

 ern U. S. and Canada. 



(421) C. acutipennis texensis 



TEXAS NIGHTHAWK. Has 

 the primaries spotted with rusty. 

 Southwestern U. S. 



become things of life — • alert and active in the highest degree. 

 Their flight, as they go hawking for their evening meal, is 

 remarkable for its grace, swiftness, and the silence with which 

 it is performed. Over fields, beside woods, and along road- 

 ways they course, every once in a while suddenly rising to 

 seize a moth above them or stooping to pick a beetle froin 

 the ground. Ha\dng whetted their appetites, they alight 

 on the tops of trees, fences, or on the ground and "whip- 

 poor-will" at one another until want of breath forces them 

 to stop. 



NIGHTHAWKS, despite their names, are less nocturnal 

 than most others of this family. They may often be seen 

 a-wing even on sunny days. However, just at dusk is their 

 favorite time for exercise and hunting. They frequent open 

 ground and the \dcinity of cities rather than wooded dis- 

 tricts. The white band across the primaries which can be 

 seen when in flight, as far off as the bird is visible, is proof 

 positive that it is a Nighthawk and not a Whip-poor-will. 



Nighthawks nest in rather open places, laying their eggs 



253 



