80 
BIRD LIFE IN WASHINGTON 
rock, a log, the top of a stump, or the 
ground, is all the nest he wants. 1 have 
flushed the bird from a ledge of rock and 
found one or two eggs in the scanty grass. 
This, the tenth of August. Yesterday, 
while walking through the woods, I saw 
the bird fly into the hushes, then it began 
tj / 
to talk excitedly. 
“This is late for eggs; there are little 
people here/’ I thought. After hunting 
awhile, I found some broken egg shells 
upon the ground. Those children were 
not very old, or the bird would not have 
been defending them so near home. 
Did you ever have Night Hawk angry 
at you? High up into the air he goes and 
then dashes down at you making the most 
comical noise. It reminds one of the spit¬ 
ting of a cross cat, only Night Hawk spits 
much louder and fiercer than puss does. 
In the autumn, before leaving for the 
South, these birds hunt in loose flocks 
which sometimes extend for nearly a mile. 
Like all purely insect eating birds, they 
belong to spring, summer and early au¬ 
tumn. 
