CLASS II. AVES: 
OEDER 2. PASSEEES. 
83 
THE CHTJCK-WILl's-WIDOW. 
The Ohuck-will's-wido'W, A. Carolinensis, is about twelve inclies long; general form robust 
entire body dark brown, minutely dotted with reddish-fulvous, and every feather having longitu- 
dinal stripes of black. Its eggs, usually two in number, are laid on the ground, generally in the 
woods. It is common in the Southern and Southwestern States, and is the largest of the genus 
in America. Flying low, and skimming a few feet above the surface of the ground, it settles on 
logs and fences, from which it pursues the flying moths and insects on which it feeds ; sometimes 
sailing nearer the earth, it alights to pick up a beetle, or flutters round the trunk of a tree in 
search of any insect that may be crawling on the bark. Like the species above described, it 
commences its singular serenade of Chuck- WilVs- Widow in the evening, soon after sunset, continu- 
ing the cry, with short interruptions, for several hours, and renewing it toward morning till the 
opening dawn. The tones are slower, louder, and more full than those of the whippoorwill, and 
may be heard on a still evening for half a mile. The species is particularly numerous in the vast 
forests of the Mississippi, where, throughout the evening, its echoing notes are heard in the soli- 
tary glens, and from the surrounding and silent hills, becoming almost incessant during the 
shining of the moon. In rainy and gloomy weather these birds remain silent in the hollow log 
which afibrds them and the bats a common roost and refuge by day. When discovered in this 
situation they ruffle their feathers, open their enormous mouths, and utter a murmur, almost like 
the hissing of a snake, to intimidate the intruder. The Indians have many superstitions in rela- 
tion both to this bird and the whippoorwill. 
Nuttall's Whippoorwill, A. Nuttalhi, is seven inches long, and is found in western North 
America. Its habits are not particularly known. 
