158 
WHIP-POOR-WILL. 
It is a remarkable fact that even the largest moths on which the Whip- 
poor-will feeds, are always swallowed tail foremost, and when swallowed, 
the wings and legs are found closely laid together, and as if partially 
glued by the saliva or gastric juice of the bird. The act of deglutition 
must be greatly aided by the long bristly feathers of the upper mandible, 
as these no doubt force the wings of the insects close together, before they 
enter the mouth. 
I have represented a male and two females, as 'well as some of the 
insects on which they feed. The former are placed on a branch of redoalc, 
that tree being abundant on the skirts of the Kentucky Barrens, where 
the Whip-poor-will is most plentiful. 
Whip-poor-will, Caprimulgus vociferus, Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. v. p. 71. 
Caprimulgus vociferus, Bonap. Syn., p. 62. 
W hip-poor-will, Caprimulgus vociferus , Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. i. p. 422 ; vol. v. p. 405. 
Whip-poor-will, Caprimulgus vociferus, Nutt. Man., vol. i. p. 614. 
Bristles without lateral filaments ; tail much rounded. General colour 
of upper parts dai’k brownish-grey, streaked and minutely sprinkled with 
brownish-black ; quills and coverts dark brown, spotted in bars with light 
brownish-red ; four middle tail feathers like those of the back, the three 
.latei'al white in their terminal half ; throat and breast similar to the back, 
with a transverse band of white on the fore neck, the rest of the lower 
parts paler and mottled. Female like the male, but with the lateral tail- 
feathers reddish-white toward the tip only, and the -band across the fore 
neck pale yellowish-brown. 
Male, 9§, 19. Female. 
Genus II.— CHORDEILES, Swains. NIGHT-HAWK. 
Mouth opening to beneath the centre of the eyes ; bill extremely small ; 
upper mandible with the tip decurved, and a deep lateral groove. Nostrils 
oblong, prominent, marginate. Eyes very large. Aperture of ear elliptical, 
very large. Head very lai’ge, depressed, but less so than in Caprimulgus. 
Claw of middle toe pectinate. No bristles at the base of the upper 
mandible. Wings very long, "pointed, with the first quill longest, and 
the secondaries very short. Tail emarginate. 
