1876. 
(May 31) 
Juno 4. 
1 . 
209 
Ghordeilos popotue. 
Maine (Lake Umbagog). 
over on its head and flutter clumsily to regain its 
balance. They reminded mo of so many groat toads and 
picked up insects in nearly the same v/ay. I noticed 
that they carried their tails raised like Terns and the 
tips of their v/ings 'railing. All that came to the gar 
don \7ero females; the males meanwhile were booming high 
in air over Gambridgo River. 
Seating myself on the edge of the beds in the gar¬ 
den this evening I v/aited the coming of the Might Ha'vks. 
In a i ev/' minutes tney began to arrive and for sometime 
were continually coming and going. Each individual ro- 
ijiained only a minute or two and there v/ero rarely more 
than throe or four on the ground at one time. Several 
alighted within six feet of me and I found that I could 
move aboutna little vrithout attracting their notice. 
One which I started suddenly uttered a clucking vmuk , 
vhuk.. Their gait v/hen walking slov/’ly was todling and 
feeble. As on previous occasions they seemed to be 
picking up insects from the freshly turned earth; but 
if this IS really their occupation I cannot imagine v/hy 
the males do not also come as they certainly never do. 
Mr.William Stone brought mo a fine adult male Night 
Hav^k V7hich ho shot as it startdd off its egg. Ho did 
not see the female. The locality v/as a small clearing 
growii up with low bushes. The egg lay on a mound v/hieh 
\/as nearly surrounded by v/ater. _ 
Oln the evening of June 5 I noticed that two male 
Night Hawks repeatedly dove over the same spot while 
booming and at that time I also saw a female rise from 
the^ground beneath; going to the place to-day I imme¬ 
diately started the female from her eggs The local 1 tv 
-vvas a tract of burnt forest on the edge of a c]:ear?ng 
theire having entirely destroyed the trees and black- 
oned the ground. Upon visiting the second place I star¬ 
ted another female which was also sitting on two eggs. 
Both birds acted similarly; they rose about fifteen 
yards ahead of me and fluttered off simulating lameness 
bU'. no. actually touching the ground as they flow. Af¬ 
ter going about thirty yards they alighted on the'ground 
and uttered an odd clicking sound, bobbing their heads 
up and down in the manner of those previously seen in 
o prden. The first set of eggs was laid-on the bare 
blackened ground; the second on a bod of soft, intensely 
oi oen sfinagnaS moss. Upon shooting one of the ?’o:'alos 
I found that the bare incubating space was on the breast 
instead of the abdomen, the latter part being thickly 
foaihered. ^ 
|| At noon v^ith the sun shini 
li Hav/ks v7Gr 
brightly numerous Might 
hav/king after insects and occasic 
|! and booming over the middle oft} 
ne Lake. 
■onally diving 
