The IIawiJiiVk OiiNrnioi.oaisT and Ooj.ugist. 



/ • 



THE NIGHT-HAWK. 

 ' 'horidiles oopetu.) 



uted over the temperate regions of 

 the United States; generally eastern, 

 found in no small numbers in the 

 Mississippi Valley, and is abundant 

 from northern Maine to southern 

 South Carolina. 



The name of this bird is in striking 

 contrast with itshabits. From its name 

 one would suppose it to possess noc- 

 turnal habits; but such is not the 

 case, being seen almost entirely in 

 broad daylight, although it seems to 

 be most frequent at early twilight. 

 This supposition is due to the utter 

 ance of those peculiar cries which at 

 once catch the ear; for who has 

 not east his eyes Heavenward on 

 hearing those strident notes to dis- 

 cover their origin. These notes are 

 made in the greatest abundance in 

 the early evening, soon after his 

 arrival from the south, and incuba- 

 tion in progress. He may be seen 

 rising in wide circles, propelled by 

 quick and slow movements, in alter- 

 nation, of the wings, until he is 

 almost invisible to the eye, and his 

 whereabouts are known only by his 

 harsh squeaks. Then with a head- 

 Jong rush he suddenly falls from fifty 

 to ninety feet, and then as quickly 

 wheeling up, when a hollow whirr is 

 heard which has been compared to 

 the blowing of the wind in the bung- 

 ho'.e of a barrel. This noise by some 

 writers on' ornithology, is attributed 

 to the action of the air on the wings; 

 by others to the action of the air on 

 the wide-open mouth. Our opinion 

 is that it is produced by the first-nam- 

 ed cause, a good deal after the man- 

 ner of that produced by the ruffed 

 grouse, on which there is some con- 

 siderable discussion, but that the ac- 

 tion of the wings of the partridge on 

 the air causes the noise is sustained 



by several writers, notably one call- 

 ing himself "Hermit," in Our Dumb 

 A limalx. who claims personal observ- 

 ation of said cause. This certainly 

 seems more leasable than the second 

 theory. 



His food consists of insects, chief- 

 ly of the larger kind, such as beetles, 

 wasps, moths, etc., in the pursuit of 

 of which its motions are most grace- 

 ful, engaging the admiring eye of 

 every beholder. 



Toward the close of April the 

 night-hawk arrives in the Middle 

 States, and in early May it makes its 

 appearance in Iowa; according to my 

 migration reports of 1887 it was first 

 seen the fifth of May. 



Soon after their arrival from the 

 South they may be seen in pairs, 

 circling the heavens in pursuit of 

 food. Less than a month later the 

 female selects some suitable spot on 

 the ground, on which to deposit her 

 eggs. The nest is always placed on 

 the ground and frequently on the 

 bare rocks of some field with scarcely 

 any show of a nest whatever. 



The eggs, according to Davie's Egg 

 Check List, are "greyish, thickly 

 mottled with tints of darker grey, 

 slate and yellowish brown; the pat- 

 tern and tints are very variable; el- 

 liptical; size, 1.25 by .85." The num- 

 ber of eggs in a set is always two. 



About the middle of August the 

 fall migration begins, moving south- 

 ward in large scattering flocks, and 

 we bid them good-bye till another 

 year. 



An eagle died in Vienna, Austria, 

 last November, that had been kept 

 in confinement 114 years. It prob- 

 ably was a young bird when caught, 

 so that its age must have been not 

 far from 120 years. A record of the 

 eagle's condition was made from year 

 to vear. 



