384. ~  BIRDS—CAPRIMULGIDA. 
male with a large white, in the female tawny, cross-bar; tail blackish, with distant 
pale marbled cross-bara and a large white spot (wanting in the female) on one or both 
webs of all the feathers toward the end; quills dusky, unmarked exeept by one large 
white spot on five outer primaries about midway between their base and tip; in the fe- 
male this area is restricted or not pure white. Length, about 9; wing, 8; tail, 5. 
Habitat, entire temperate North and Middle America. North to Hudson’s Bay. Cuba, 
Jamaica and the Bahamas. South to Brazil. 
Common summer resident, from May to September. The Nighthawk 
is a much better known bird throughout the State than the Whippoor- 
will. It arrives in this vicinity early in May, when it may be seen 
perched upon the limb of a tree, motionless and apparently asleep. Ina 
few days pairing is effected, and one or both birds may be seen flying high 
over a locality which they have chosen for nesting, even in the brightest 
noonday sun. At such times attention is called to the bird by its loud 
and singular note, which is heard while it is at a great height. 
Some writers have asserted that the birds of this family are unable by 
reason of the smallness of their feet to sit upon a limb in the ordinary 
fashion of birds, but must place the long axis of the body parallel with 
-the limb. Reasonable as this may appear, some birds in this neighbor- 
hood contemptuously disregard the teachings of wise men, and perch 
crossways upon limbs without apparent inconvenience. I have shot 
several for so doing, as has also my friend, Dr. O. Frankenberg, and we 
hope to put an end to this provokingly unscientific habit. 
The Nighthawk and Whippoorwill are frequently confounded, or con- 
sidered as birds of the same species. A careful comparison with each 
other or with the descriptions will at once show a very decided difference. 
The Nighthawk is also known as the Goatsucker,.a name given to its 
Huropean relative, from the belief that it did as the name implied. 
Doubtless its habit of frequenting pastures and fields where cattle 
feed, in search of insects which abound in such places, led to this super- 
stition. I have elsewhere noted (Birds N. W., 1. c.) that in skinning, 
these birds exhale a strong goatlike odor, which may have added a fan- 
ciful reason for this long exploded idea. 
In the latter part of summer the Nighthawks collect in darea companies. 
towards night and frequent fields in search of food. Their southern mi- 
gration is performed in the latter part of August and September. During 
this period they may be seen in very loose flocks, toward evening, making 
their way southward, and feeding as they fly. At such times they fly 
over, rather than around obstacles, and do not turn aside for cities. Their 
flight is high or low, according to the dryness or dampness of the atmos- 
phere, which governs the flight of the insects on which they feed. Flocks 
of thousands are sometimes seen. 
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