October, 1921 FOREST AND STREAM 451 
VISITING THE NIGHTHAWKS 
T HE nighthawk is a bird that you 
are most apt to see towards eve- 
ning or on cloudy and rainy days. 
It is larger than the robin and 
brown thrasher and about the size of the 
purple grackle or crow black- 
bird. Once you have heard 
his boom you will be sure to 
know him by his characteristic 
sound. His call, too, is unlike 
that of any other bird and is 
easily recognized though heard 
towards night when the bird 
can not be seen. At times it 
sounds to me like a nasal 
“peeg,” while at others it 
sounds more like “peezp.” 
When flying he flaps his wings, 
uttering his call during each 
series of flaps as though the 
exertion helps liberate the 
sound. After or with each 
series of wing beats he sails up 
higher in the air and then re- 
peats the performance. When 
up quite high enough to suit 
him he swoops downward at a 
great speed only to catch him- 
self when near the ground 
with a great boom caused by 
the air rushing through his wings. He 
seems quite proud of his ability to riiake 
the noise, and at times, accidentally or 
otherwise, seems to enjoy booming near 
one’s head. Much of the booming is 
for the benefit of the mate he is wooing 
or for the mate he has won and who 
r is sitting on her eggs not far off. 
Should you chance to see a bird sitting 
on the branch of a tree, lengthwise the 
branch, you may be quite sure you see a 
nighthawk. You will have little trouble 
in getting quite near them when they are 
thus perching, for they are usually rest- 
ing and do not care to be disturbed. The 
( white bar on each wing can nearly al- 
ways be seen and serves as an additional 
means of identification. They seem to 
[me to be wise birds as they sit scarcely 
moving their heads as they follow your 
moves. They seem to know they are well 
>out of reach. 
'~THE nighthawk builds no nest but lays 
ij A its eggs in a slight depression on 
'some knoll or projecting rock. Some- 
times their eggs are found on the tops of 
city blocks. The eggs match the ground 
in color and are hard to see. Unless you 
are aware of the fact that you have 
flushed a sitting nighthawk you may mis- 
take the two spotted dull-gray eggs for 
pebbles. The bird, too, when sitting, 
matches the ground in color and is very 
,hard to see. At times I have had to 
j stand for a long time carefully examining 
the ground, inch by inch, where I knew 
the nest to be and where I was sure she 
was then sitting. When sitting you can 
usually get quite near the bird without 
disturbing it, for it relies upon its pro- 
tective color and remains quiet while you 
pass by. Should you stop and look and 
point her way, she soon leaves, for she 
sees she has been discovered. 
Last year I found a nighthawk sitting 
on its two eggs on a small sandy knoll. 
We went near the nest many times and 
she became so tame that we could stand 
but four feet away and watch her for 
any length of time. Early in July the 
eggs hatched and we went to see the 
young birds. The next time I went that 
way she and the young birds were gone, 
and in a day or two I ran across a male 
and a female with two young birds on a 
Two spotted, dull grey eggs 
neighboring knoll. I had gone that way 
dozens of times before without discover- 
ing a nest and was quite sure that the 
birds that so mysteriously disappeared 
from the nest we had been watching 
were the very ones that I now found 
on the second knoll. The female threw 
herself on the ground at my feet and 
seemed to be badly hurt but managed to 
keep just out of my reach. I knew she 
was feigning injury and was trying to 
get me as far as possible from the young 
birds. The male perched on a dead 
branch just above my head and 
he seemed as badly hurt as the 
female. I followed the mother 
off and left the little birds 
where I found them. 
About a week ago I flushed 
a sitting nighthawk from a 
nest that contained an egg and 
a young bird just out of the 
shell. I wanted to get a pic- 
ture of an incubating night- 
hawk and placed an umbrella 
blind near the nest. While I 
was waiting for the old bird 
to return the remaining egg 
hatched. I waited for some 
time and though the anxious 
mother flew near the nest and 
settled on the ground not far 
off she did not return to the 
young birds. I left without se- 
curing the desired picture. I 
did not dare keep the mother 
bird away too long for fear the 
young birds would die in the 
hot sun. That same night they were 
still there but the next day she and the 
young birds were gone. She, too, had 
found safer quarters for her babies. 
I found another nest about a quarter 
of a mile from the one mentioned in the 
preceding paragraph. The bird was sit- 
ting on an egg which hatched in a few 
days. The second egg had been punc- 
tured and the bird had rolled it off about 
eight inches where its contents had dried 
in the sun. I visited the nest shortly 
after the sound egg hatched and secured 
a picture of the tiny bird. This proved 
too much for the old birds and the next 
day I found the little fellow about a rod 
from where it was hatched. I took a 
second picture of it and left. The next 
day I found that the parents had de- 
cided to take no more chances, for I 
failed to find either the old birds or their 
offspring. 
CTILL another nest located about 
^ midway between the two previously 
mentioned contains two eggs which 
should hatch at any time. There was 
but one egg when I found it about three 
weeks ago, but in a day or two a second 
was laid and the bird has since been sit- 
ting on the two. I have been near the 
nest a great deal and the sitting bird 
seems quite tame. Still I had a hard 
time getting exposures for some pictures. 
I first tried setting the camera near the 
nest, hoping the bird would take her 
place and that I could make .he exposure 
bv means of a black thread I fastened 
( Continued on paqc 471) 
The bird sat dozing in the sunshine 
