154 CHUCK- WILL'S- WIDOW. 



have I ever had an opportunity of witnessing the removal of the young. 

 Should a person, coming upon the nest when the bird is sitting, refrain from 

 touching the eggs, the bird returns to them and sits as before. This fact I 

 have also ascertained by observation. 



I have not been able to discover the peculiar use of the pectinated claw 

 which this bird has on each foot. 



The Chuck-will's-widow manifests a strong antipathy towards all snakes, 

 however harmless they may be. Although these birds cannot in any way 

 injure the snakes, they alight near them on all occasions, and try to frighten 

 them away, by opening their prodigious mouth, and emitting a strong hissing 

 murmur. It was after witnessing one of these occurrences, which took place 

 at early twilight, that the idea of representing these birds in such an occu- 

 pation struck me. The beautiful little snake, gliding along the dead branch, 

 between two Chuck-will's-widows, a male and a female, is commonly called 

 the Harlequin Snake, and is, I believe, quite harmless. 



The food of the bird now under consideration consists entirely of all sorts 

 of insects, among which the larger species of moths and beetles are very 

 conspicuous. The long bristly feathers at the base of the mandibles of these 

 birds no doubt contribute greatly to prevent the insects from escaping, after 

 any portion of them has entered the mouth of the bird. 



These birds become silent as soon as the young are hatched, but are heard 

 again before their departure towards the end of summer. At this season, 

 however, their cry is much less frequently heard than in spring. They 

 leave the United States all of a sudden, about the middle of the month of 

 August. 



The occurrence of the remains of a bird in the stomach of an individual of 

 this species is a very remarkable circumstance, as it had never been known, 

 or even conjectured to feed on birds. If the larger and stronger species, and 

 especially the Stout-billed Podargi, should thus be found to be carnivorous, 

 their affinity to the Owls, so apparent in the texture and colours of their 

 plumage, will be rendered more conspicuous. 



Chuck-will's-widow, Caprimulgus Carolinensis, Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. vi. p. 95. 

 Caprimulgus Carolinensis, Bonap. S3 r n., p. 61. 

 Chuck-will's-widow, Caprimulgus Carolinensis, vol. i. p. 612. 



Chuck-will's-widow, Caprimulgus Carolinensis, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. i. p. 273; vol. v. 

 p. 401. 



Bristles with lateral filaments; tail slightly rounded. Head and back dark 

 brown, minutely mottled with yellowish-red, and longitudinally streaked 

 with black; three bands of the latter colour, from the lower mandible diverg- 



