10 THE” AU DU BON SB Ue 
The species is quite common on the west coast and inland to Salt Lake 
and Yellowstone, and a colony nests in the Souris River region in North 
Dakota. They move to their breeding grounds in March, April and May, 
and start southward to their winter homes in September, October and 
November. It was doubtless during the latter migration that this rare 
straggler found its way to Orland. 
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AN AERIAL CIRCUS is one of nature’s big shows at the farm about this time 
of the year, for the nighthawks, among the world’s most graceful and tricky 
feathered flyers, now are on their annual fall migration. These wonderful 
birds always put on one of the most interesting shows in late afternoon and 
evening as they pass over the farm. During the last week hundreds have 
been seen by the farm residents. 
When we were on the farm a few days ago, we watched the nighthawks 
for about a half hour before sundown. They were coming from the east 
and working west, some of the birds flying quite low as they caught insects 
for their supper. 
The nighthawk wanders in its migration from the islands of the Arctic 
ocean to southern South America. It is able to feed at most any hour of 
the day because it can see and catch flying insects in the brightest daylight. 
One of the remarkable things about this useful insect eater is that it 
alsc has the ability to obtain a meal of insects on the wing even on clear 
nights. Its mouth, like that of the whip-poor-will, opens far back under its 
ears, so it forms a trap to engulf insects; its tireless wings enable it to 
overtake them with the utmost ease. 
While watching the flight, we were struck by the skill of each bird in 
using its wings. It doesn’t have a rapid wing beat, but its spread (21 to 
almost 24 inches) gives it the power to sideslip to catch an insect, or make 
an upward zoom so quickly that few flying bugs can escape it. 
Late August marks the start of the southward migration of the night- 
hawks, and it continues through September. Most of our small land birds, 
like the thrushes and the sparrows, do not have the courage to travel by 
day. They prefer to migrate under cover of darkness, then feed and rest 
in the daylight hours. But the nighthawks boldly migrate by daylight, and 
always travel in loose flocks, in contrast with wild geese, which seem to 
have fixed regulations on close order flying. 
Many bird fans often are puzzled when they see nighthawks on the 
wing because not all the flocks are going south. Such was the case the 
other night, when the birds we watched were going west. This happens 
quite frequently during migrations, but as a rule these off-the-route move- 
ments are short. Eventually, the birds swing back to their South American 
course, covering a few miles each day toward their winter home.—“Day by 
Day on the Farm,” Chicago Daily Tribune. 
