184 



RECREA TION. 



fully upon the insects that think to evade 

 the birds with less wing power. I have 

 spent hours in watching him at work in his 

 mid-air feeding-grounds, waiting patiently 

 for him to do " the drop act " once more. 

 His habit of half closing his wings and 

 dropping head first toward the earth, with 

 such a hollow whirr and jar that he is 

 sometimes called the night-jar, is one of the 

 most astonishing tricks performed by a 

 wild bird. True, there are other birds that 

 fall through the air upon their prey — most 

 hawks do it — but to me the performance 

 of the nighthawk always seemed more 

 thrilling. 



I am glad to say I have never known 

 anyone so much in error regarding the 

 habits of this queer bird as to charge him 

 with catching chickens. Possibly the idea 



— if it still prevails, anywhere — arose from 

 the nighthawk's name. But, speaking of 

 protective coloration: if a nighthawk sit- 

 ting sidewise on an oak limb, and saying 

 nothing, does not look as natural as any 

 knot that ever grew, I would not say so. 

 Do not kill him, boys, even if you discover 

 him. He is a good fellow, he works hard 

 for a living, harms nobody, and he does 

 more good in the world than a great many 

 men. Watch him, study him, and surely 

 you will be interested. Don't kill him; for 

 his skin is like wet tissue paper, and you 

 would not have the patience to mount him, 

 even if you knew how. As an old friend of 

 my boyhood, I wish him long life, pros- 

 perity, and millions of insects every day of 

 his life. 



W. T. H. 



NORTHERN SHARP-TAIL GROUSE. 



JOHN BOYD. 



The Northern sharp-tailed grouse (Pedi- 

 oecetes phasiancllus) is the boreal represent- 

 ative of the species, and is distinct, in many 

 respects, from the Southern variety, which 

 is known as the Columbian sharp-tailed 

 grouse. Both of these are popularly 

 spoken of as " prairie chickens " ; but 



wrongly so, as that appellation really be- 

 longs to the pinnated grouse. 



The range of the present species is from 

 the Southern boundary of Manitoba, 

 Northward to the Arctic regions; although 

 these last few years we find some that have 

 abandoned the prairies for the woods, and 



NORTHERN SHARP-TAILED GROUSE (PED/CECETES PHASIANELLUS). 



