342 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
with the nighthawks by Mr. George Shiras, 3d, in his study of the glow 
seen at night in the eyes of animals facing bright light. 
The first day that we camped at Cuervo, on our way to the Staked 
Plains, a Poor-will was heard at intervals all day, probably because he 
was wakened by the musical but unaccustomed jangle of the horse 
bell, for after that he was silent until evening. 
When we were camped on the edge of a canyon in the Guadalupe 
Mountains, at dusk while the bats were flying down in the canyon, up 
along the edge came the Poor-wills so near that we could hear their sylla¬ 
bles distinctly— poor-will'-uck, poor-will'-uck. Sometimes two would 
call antiphonally, faster and faster till they fairly tripped over each 
other. The call as it is often given is a delightfully soft, poor-will ', poor- 
will', poor-will'-uck, which like the delicious aromatic smell of the sage¬ 
brush clings long to the memory of the lover of the west. 
NIGHTHAWKS: Subfamily Chordeilinae 
The nighthawks, which are not strictly crepuscular, lack the long 
rictal bristles and have the plumage more compact than the goat¬ 
suckers, the wings extremely long, stiff, and pointed, 
the tail slightly forked, the feet weak, the hind toe 
short, the front toes connected by web, the middle 
toe long, its claw pectinated. The species show such 
individual variation as to complicate the problem of 
geographic forms and make identification of speci¬ 
mens difficult (Oborholser). 
Fig. 57. Foot of 
Nighthawk 
Reference. — Oberholser, H. C., U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 86, 1914 (monograph 
of Chordeiles). 
WESTERN NIGHTHAWK: Chordeiles minor henryi Cassin 
Description. — Male: Length about 9-9.5 inches, wing 7.3-8.2, tail 4.1-4.6, bill 
.2-3, tarsus .5-.6, middle toe .5-.6 (female slightly smaller). A dull male: Upper- 
parts mainly light grayish huffy or ochraceous, irregularly spotted, marbled, and 
vermiculated; tail dusky, crossed by bands of paler and by a broad subterminal 
band of white; wing with white or huffy hand crossing five outermost quills about half 
way from tip to bend of wing; triangular throat patch white, bordered below by black; 
rest of underparts barred with dusky and tawny anteriorly, and buffy posteriorly; 
iris dark brown, bill black, feet gray. Adult female: Throat patch usually buffy, 
white of tail wanting, patch on wing restricted, upperparts lighter, underparts more 
buffy. Young: Similar to adult female but throat patch obscured, upperparts paler, 
and underparts less distinctly barred. 
Comparisons. —Of the four Nighthawks found in New Mexico, the forms of 
minor — henryi , hesperis, and howelli —can be distinguished from Chordeiles acutipennis 
texensis by the position of the wing band, which is about half way between the tip 
and bend of wing in the three forms of minor; nearer tip than bend of wing in texensis 
(p. 346). Of the three forms of minor, hesperis (the Pacific) is darker than henryi 
(the Western), and howelli (the Howell), lighter. (See Comparisons under howelli, 
p. 346.) 
