ANTROSTOMUS CAR0LJNENS1S. 
205 
week in May, the young are fully fledged by the last week in July, and as they are found 
alone in the woods at that early age, must learn soon to hunt for themselves. These birds 
are rather solitary in habit and, although quite a number occasionally collect in favorable 
localities, they are not gregarious, even while migrating. The southward passage occurs 
in September and as these birds are never seen flying during the day-time, it must be per¬ 
formed wholly at night. 
ANTROSTOMUS CAROLINENSIS. 
Chuck-will’s Widow. 
Antrostomus Carolincnsis Gould, leones Avium; 1838. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Sp. Ch. Form, robust. Size, large. Sternum, stout. Tongue, long, narrow, thin and somewhat fleshy. The hyoid 
bones curve upward back of the skull. The bristles of the bill are provided with lateral filaments. 
Color. Adult male. General color above, dark-brown, obscured by spots, tippings, and edgings of rufous. The top 
of head is rufous with three longitudinal streaks of black, extending from the base of the bill to the nape and there is a 
yellowish-rufous line over the eye. There are drop-shaped spots of rufous on the wing coverts, forming a bar. The wings 
are dark-brown barred on both webs with spots of yellowish-rufous which are sprinkled with brown. The scapularies and 
upper wing coverts are marked with black and edged with ashy. The tail is brown, marked with ashy and rufous which 
appear in small spots forming bars The three outer pairs of feathers are broadly tipped with white which becomes buffy-yel- 
low below, and all the feathers are tipped with buff which is sprinkled with brown above. Beneath, dark-brown, with the 
feathers tipped and spotted with yellowish-rufous. There is a narrow band of whitish on the throat but it is not very dis¬ 
tinct. 
Adult female. Quite similar to the male, butlacks the white markings on the tail which are replaced by brownish, and 
the buffy tippings of the feathers are without dots, but there is a distinct, subterminal bar of black, and there Is no white 
band on the throat. Bill and feet, brown in all stages. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
Specimens vary considerably in markings, much as in the preceding species to which the general colors bear considera¬ 
ble resemblance; they may be known at once by the larger size and buffy color on the under side of the white of the tail. 
Distributed during summer throughout the Eastern section of the United States, north to the Carolinas, and in the interior 
into Southern Blinois. Winters in the West Indies. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Average measurements of six specimens from Florida. Length, 12*87; stretch, 25*00; wing, 8*55; tail, 5*95; bill, *42; 
tarsus, *67. Longest specimen, 13*25; greatest extent of wing, 25*50; longest wing, 8*90; tail, 6*50; bill, *45; tarsus,*75. 
Shortest specimen, 12*50; smallest extent of wing, 24*60; shortest wing, 8*30; tail, 5*40; bill, *30; tarsus, *60. 
DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 
Nests, mere hollows scratched in the ground among the leaves, no material being used. A secluded locality is always 
selected, usually in thick hummocks. 
Erjys, two in number, perfectly elliptical in form, pale-salmon in color, spotted and blotched irregularly with lilac, pale- 
lilac and brown. Dimensions from 1*40 x *95 to 1*55 x 1*07. 
HABITS. 
Shortly after the first notes of the Whippoorwill are heard in Florida, a more volumi¬ 
nous song comes through the still evening air; it is similar in tone to that of the above 
mentioned species, hut louder and more prolonged, for it consists of at least one more 
syllable, and although the lay pronounced by the birds bears but little resemblance to their 
name, any one who is familiar with ornithology would at once exclaim, ‘that is the Chuck- 
will’s Widow!’ The notes are so different from those of the birds last described, that even 
the settlers in Florida notice it and call them Spanish Whippoorwills. The song of the 
