Family CAPRIMULGIDÆ.—The Goatsuckers.
Char. Bill very short; the gape enormously long and wide, opening to beneath or behind the eyes. Culmen variable. Toes connected by a movable skin; secondaries lengthened; plumage soft, sometimes very full and loose, as in the Owls.
The preceding diagnosis in connection with that of the order will suffice to separate the Caprimulgidæ from their allies. Their closest relatives are the Cypselidæ, next to which perhaps may be reckoned the Trochilidæ.
In defining the subdivisions of this family, we make use of an excellent monograph of the American species by Dr. Sclater, in Proceedings of the Zoölogical Society, London, 1866, 123. He establishes three subfamilies as follows:—
I. Podarginæ. Claw of middle toe not pectinated; outer toe with five phalanges. Sternum with two pairs of posterior fissures.
Outer pair of posterior sternal fissures much deeper than inner pair; tarsus long and naked. Eggs colorless. Podargus, Batrachostomus, Ægotheles, Old World.
Outer pair of posterior fissures much deeper than inner pair; tarsus extremely short and feathered. Nyctibius, New World.
II. Steatornithinæ. Claw of middle toe not pectinated; outer toe with five phalanges. Sternum with one pair of shallow posterior fissures. Eggs colorless. Steatornis, New World.
III. Caprimulginæ. Claw of middle toe pectinated; outer toe with four phalanges only. Sternum with one pair of shallow posterior fissures. Eggs colored (colorless in Antrostomus nuttalli, Baird).
a. Glabrirostres. Rictus smooth. Podager, Lurocalis, Chordeiles, New World. Lyncornis, Eurystopodus, Old World.
b. Setirostres. Rictus armed with strong bristles. Caprimulgus, Scotornis, Macrodipteryx, Old World; Antrostomus, Stenopsis, Hydropsalis, Heleothreptus, Nyctidromus, Siphonorhis, New World.
Dr. Sclater is of the opinion that Podargus may ultimately have to be placed in a different family from the Caprimulgidæ, with or without the other genera placed under Podarginæ; of these Nyctibius, the sole New World genus has species in Middle (including Jamaica) and South America. Steatornis caripensis, the single representative of the second subfamily, is found in Trinidad, Venezuela, and Colombia. It lives in caverns and deep chasms of the rocks, becoming excessively fat (whence the scientific name), and is said to feed on fruits. The bill is large and powerful, more like that of a Hawk than a Goatsucker.
Subfamily CAPRIMULGINÆ.
Char. Outer toes with four digits only; claw of middle toe pectinated. Sternum with one pair only of sternal fissures or notches. Toes scutellate above. Hind toe directed a little more than half forward, nostrils separated; rather nearer the commissure than the culmen.
The Caprimulginæ have been divided by Dr. Sclater as follows:—
A. Glabrirostres. Rictus smooth.
I. Tarsus stout, longer than middle toe, entirely naked … Podager.
II. Tarsus moderate, shorter than middle toe, more or less clothed with feathers.
a. Tail short, almost square … Lurocalis.
b. Tail elongated, a little forked … Chordeiles.
B. Setirostres. Rictus bristled.
III. Aerial. Tarsi short, more or less clothed.
a. Wings normal, second and third quills longest.
1. Tail moderate, rounded at tip … Antrostomus.
2. Tail elongated, even at tip … Stenopsis.
3. Tail very long, forked or bifurcate … Hydropsalis.
b. Wings abnormal in male; outer six quills nearly equal … Heleothreptus.
IV. Terrestrial. Tarsi elongated, naked.
a. Bill moderately broad; nasal aperture scarcely prominent … Nyctidromus.
b. Bill very broad; nasal aperture much projecting (Jamaica) … Siphonorhis.
Chordeiles popetue.
1605 ♂
Of the genera enumerated above, only two certainly belong to the fauna of the United States (Chordeiles and Antrostomus), although there is some reason to suppose that Nyctidromus should be included, as among the manuscript drawings of Dr. Berlandier, of birds collected at Matamoras on the Lower Rio Grande, is one that can be readily referred to no other than N. albicollis.[102] The briefest diagnoses of these three genera will be as follows:—
Chordeiles. Gape without bristles; tarsi moderate, partly feathered; tail narrow, slightly forked; plumage rather compact.
Antrostomus. Gape with bristles; tarsi moderate, partly feathered; tail broad, considerably rounded; plumage soft.
Nyctidromus. Gape with bristles; tarsi lengthened, bare; tail broad, rounded; plumage soft.
Genus CHORDEILES, Swainson.
Chordeiles, Swainson, Fauna Bor. Amer. II, 1831, 496. (Type, Caprimulgus virginianus.)
Gen. Char. Bill small, the nostrils depressed; the gape with feeble, inconspicuous bristles. Wings long, narrow, and pointed; the first quill nearly or quite equal to the second. Tail rather narrow, slightly forked; plumage quite compact. Habits diurnal or crepuscular.
Many species of this genus belong to America, although but two that are well characterized enter into the fauna of the United States. These are easily distinguished as follows:—
Species and Varieties.
C. popetue. White patch on primaries extending over the five outer quills, anterior to their middle portion. No rufous spots on quills, anterior to the white patch.
a. Dark mottling predominating on upper parts; lower tail-coverts distinctly banded.
Wing, 8.00; tail, 4.40. Hab. Eastern Province of United States and Northwest coast … var. popetue.
Wing, 6.90; tail, 4.00. More rufous mottling on scapulars and jugulum, and a decided ochraceous tinge below. Hab. West Indies … var. minor.[103]
b. Light mottling predominating on upper parts; lower tail-coverts only very indistinctly and sparsely banded.
Size of var. popetue. Hab. Middle Province of United States … var. henryi.
C. acutipennis. White patch on primaries extending over only four outer quills, and beyond their middle portion; distinct rufous spots on quills, anterior to the white patch.
Wing, 6.20 to 6.50; tail, 3.90 to 4.10. Hab. South America … var. acutipennis.[104]
Wing, 7.00 to 7.30; tail, 4.40 to 4.75; Colors not appreciably different. Hab. Middle America, north into southern border of United States … var. texensis.
Chordeiles popetue, var. popetue, Baird.
NIGHT-HAWK; BULL-BAT.
Caprimulgus popetue, Vieillot, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 56, pl. xxiv ♀. Chordeiles popetue, Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 151.—Lord, Pr. R. A. Inst. IV, 1864, 113 (Br. Col. nesting).—Cooper & Suckley, 166.—Samuels, 122. Caprimulgus americanus, Wilson, V, 1812, 65, pl. cxl. f. 1, 2. Chordeiles americanus, DeKay, N. Y. Zoöl. II, 1844, 34, pl. xxvii. Caprimulgus virginianus, Brisson, II, 1760, 477 (in part only).—Aud. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 273, pl. cxlvii.—Max. Cab. J. VI, 1858.—Warthausen, Cab. J. 1868, 373 (nesting). Caprimulgus (Chordeiles) virginianus, Sw. F. Bor.-Am. II. 1831, 62. Chordeiles virginianus, Bon. List, 1838.—Aud. Birds Am. I, 1840, 159, pl. xliii.—Newberry, Zoöl. Cal. and Oregon Route, 79; Rep. P. R. R. Surv. VI, 1857. Long-winged Goatsucker, Pennant, Arctic Zoöl. II, 1785, 337.
Chordeiles popetue.
Sp. Char. Male, above greenish-black, but with little mottling on the head and back. Wing-coverts varied with grayish; scapulars with yellowish-rufous. A nuchal band of fine gray mottling, behind which is another coarser one of rufous spots. A white V-shaped mark on the throat; behind this a collar of pale rufous blotches, and another on the breast of grayish mottling. Under parts banded transversely with dull yellowish or reddish-white and brown. Wing-quills quite uniformly brown. The five outer primaries with a white blotch (about half an inch long) midway between the tip and carpal joint, not extending on the outer web of the outer quill. Tail with a terminal white patch, which does not reach the outer edge of the feathers. Female without the caudal white patch, the white tail-bands more mottled, the white of the throat mixed with reddish. Length of male, 9.50; wing, 8.20.
Hab. United States and north to Hudson Bay; in winter visits Greater Antilles, and southward to Central America (Rio Janeiro, Pelzeln); said to breed in Jamaica. In Rocky Mountains, replaced by the variety henryi. Localities: Trout Lake, H. B. T. (Murray, Edinb. Phil. Journ. 1860); Bahamas (Bryant, Bost. Soc. VII, 1859); Guatemala. (Scl. Ibis, II, 275); Cuba (Lawr.); Jamaica (March, P. A. N. S. 1863, 285, breeds); Matamoras (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 471, breeds); Rio Janeiro, January (Pelz., Orn. Bras. I, 14); Veragua (Salvin, P. Z. S. 1870, 203).
Habits. The common Night-Hawk of North America is a very common species throughout a widely extended area, and within the United States breeds wherever found. Its range extends from Florida and Texas to the extreme northern latitudes, and from the Atlantic at least to the great Central Plains. It has been found as far to the south as Panama.
At Matamoras Mr. Dresser found this species abundant during the summer
season, and towards dusk thousands of these birds and of C. texensis and C. henryi might be seen flying in towards the river from the prairies, this one being the least common of the three. In Northern Florida it is also a common species, and I have rarely received any collection of eggs from that State without the eggs of this bird being found among them. They are known there as Bull-bats.
In many of its habits, as well as in its well-marked generic distinctions, this species exhibits so many and such well-marked differences from the Whippoorwill that there seem to be no good reasons for confounding two birds so very unlike. It is especially much less nocturnal, and has, strictly speaking, no claim to its common name, as indicating it to be a bird of the night, which it is not. It is crepuscular, rather than nocturnal, and even this habit is more due to the flight of the insects upon which it feeds at morning and at evening than to any organization of the bird rendering it necessary. It may not unfrequently be seen on the wing, even in bright sunny weather, at midday, in pursuit of its winged prey. This is especially noticeable with such birds as are wont to frequent our large cities, which may be seen throughout all hours of the day sailing high in the air. Generally, however, it is most lively early in the morning and just before nightfall, when its supply of insect food is most abundant. But it is never to be found on the wing after dark. As soon as the twilight deepens into the shades of night all retire to rest as regularly, if not at quite as early an hour, as other birds in regard to the diurnal habits of which there is no question.
This species appears to be equally abundant throughout the fur countries, where, Dr. Richardson states, few birds are better known. In the higher latitudes to which these birds resort the sun does not set during their stay, and all their pursuit of insects must be made by sunlight.
In the winter this species leaves the United States, retiring to Mexico, Central America, and the northern portions of South America. Specimens from Mexico were in the Rivoli collection. They were taken by Barruel in Nicaragua, by Salvin in Guatemala, in Jamaica by Gosse, and in Cuba by both Lembeye and Gundlach.
The movements, evolutions, and general habits of this species, in the pursuit of their prey, bear little resemblance to those of the Antrostomi, but are much more like those of the Falconidæ. They fly high in the air, often so high as to be hardly visible, and traverse the air, moving backward and forward in the manner of a Hawk. At times they remain perfectly stationary for several moments, and then suddenly and rapidly dart off, their wings causing a very peculiar vibratory sound. As they fly they utter a very loud and shrill cry which it is almost impossible to describe, but often appearing to come from close at hand when the bird is high in the air. Richardson compares this sound to the vibration of a tense cord in a violent gust of wind.
In some of the peculiarities of its breeding the Mosquito-Hawk displays several very marked variations of habit from the Whippoorwill. While the latter always deposits its eggs under the cover of shady trees and in thick woods, these birds select an open rock, a barren heath, or an exposed hillside for their breeding-place. This is not unfrequently in wild spots in the vicinity of a wood, but is always open to the sun. I have even known the eggs carelessly dropped on the bare ground in a corner of a potato-field, and have found the female sitting on her eggs in all the bright glare of a noonday sun in June, and to all appearance undisturbed by its brilliance. A more common situation for the eggs is a slight hollow of a bare rock, the dark weather-beaten shades of which, with its brown and slate-colored mosses and lichens, resembling both the parent and the egg in their coloring, are well adapted to screen them from observation or detection.
The great abundance of insect life of certain kinds in the vicinity of our large cities has of late years attracted these birds. Each summer their number in Boston has perceptibly increased, and through June and July, at almost all hours of the day, most especially in the afternoon, they may be seen or heard sailing high in the air over its crowded streets. The modern style of house-building, with flat Mansard roofs, has also added to the inducements, affording safe and convenient shelter to the birds at night, and serving also for the deposition of their eggs. In quite a number of instances in the summers of 1870 and 1871 they were known to lay their eggs and to rear their young on the flat roofs of houses in the southern and western sections of the city. I have also been informed by the late Mr. Turnbull, of Philadelphia, that the flat roofs of large warehouses near the river in that city are made similar use of.
If approached when sitting on her eggs, the female will suffer herself to be almost trodden on before she will leave them, and when she does it is only to tumble at the feet of the intruder and endeavor to draw him away from her treasures by well-feigned lameness and pretended disability. Her imitation of a wounded bird is so perfect as to deceive almost any one not aware of her cunning devices.
The eggs of this bird are always two in number, elliptical in shape, and equally obtuse at either end. They exhibit marked variations in size, in ground-color, and in the shades and number of their markings. In certain characteristics and in their general effect they are alike, and all resemble oblong-oval dark-colored pebble-stones. Their safety in the exposed positions in which they are laid is increased by this resemblance to the stones among which they lie. They vary in length from 1.30 to 1.13 inches, and in breadth from .84 to .94 of an inch. Their ground is of various shades of stone-color, in some of a dirty white, in others with a tinge of yellow or blue, and in yet others a clay-color. The markings are more or less diffused over the entire egg, and differ more or less with each specimen, the prevailing colors being varying shades of slate and of yellowish-brown.
With all these variations the eggs are readily recognizable, and bear no resemblance to any others except those of texensis and henryi. From the former they are easily distinguished by the greater size, but from the latter they can only be separated by considerations of locality.
Chordeiles popetue, var. henryi, Cassin.
WESTERN NIGHT-HAWK.
Chordeiles henryi, Cassin, Illust. Birds of Cal. & Tex. I, 1855, 233.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 153, pl. xvii.—Sclater, P. Z. S. 1866, 133.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 343.
Sp. Char. Similar to var. popetue, but the male considerably lighter, with a greater predominance of the light mottlings, producing a more grayish aspect; the female more rufous. Wing-patch of the male larger (at least an inch long), and, like the tail-patch, crossing the whole breadth of the feather.
Hab. Western Province of North America, except Pacific Coast region. Matamoras to San Antonio, Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 471); Arizona (Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 58).
In examining a large series of Night-Hawks, we find the differences indicated above, in specimens from the Black Hills, Rocky Mountains, and the adjacent regions, to be quite decided and constant. Skins, however, from Washington, Oregon, and California, seem darker even than the typical eastern. There is no prominent difference beyond the lighter colors of male, and greater distinctness, extent, and purity of the white or light markings, and in the white patches of wing and tail, crossing the outer webs of all the feathers; the general proportions and pattern of coloration being quite the same. It will therefore seem proper to consider C. henryi as a local race, characteristic of the region in which it occurs, and as such noteworthy, but not entitled to independent rank.
Another race, C. minor, Cab., similar to var. popetue, but considerably smaller (7.50, wing, 7.00), is resident in Cuba and Jamaica. C. popetue is also said to breed in the latter island, but minor is probably referred to.
Habits. This form, whether we regard it as a good species, or only a western race of the common Night-Hawk, was first described as a new variety by Mr. Cassin, in 1855, from specimens procured at Fort Webster, New Mexico, by Dr. Henry, in honor of whom it was named. Its claim to be considered a distinct race or species rests chiefly upon its constantly different colorations.
Dr. Cooper, who regarded this form not specifically distinct from the Night-Hawk, states that it is not found near the coast border of California.
Dr. Kennerly encountered it in abundance in the vicinity of Los Nogales, in Sonora, in June. Late in the afternoon they came in great numbers around the camp. They kept circling round and round, and approached the earth nearer and nearer with the declining sun.
Mr. Dresser found them very abundant at Matamoras, and as far east as the Sal Colorado, beyond which he did not meet with any. About dusk, thousands of these birds might be seen flying in towards the river from the prairies. At San Antonio, where Mr. Dresser found both C. popetue and C. texensis, he never procured a single specimen of this bird, nor did Dr. Heermann ever meet with one there.
Dr. Coues says these birds are abundant throughout the Territory of Arizona. At Fort Whipple it is a summer resident, arriving in April and remaining until October, being particularly numerous in August and September. Mr. Drexler made a large collection of these birds at Fort Bridger, in Utah, all of which showed such constant differences from eastern specimens as to indicate in his opinion the propriety of a specific separation.
An egg of this bird taken at Fort Crook, California, by Lieutenant Fulner, measures 1.25 inches in length by .92 of an inch in breadth. While resembling in general effect an egg of C. popetue, it is lighter in colorings, and varies from any of that bird I have ever seen. Its ground-color is that of clay, over which are diffused curious aggregations of small spots and cloudings of yellowish-brown, mingled with lilac. These markings are quite small and separate, but are grouped in such close proximity into several collections as to give them the appearance of large blotches; and the blending of these two shades is so general as to produce the effect of a color quite different from either, except upon a close inspection, or an examination through a magnifying glass.
This variety was met with at the Forks of the Saskatchewan, in June, 1858, by Captain Blakiston, and specimens were obtained on the Saskatchewan Plains, by M. Bourgeau, in the summer of the same year. The latter also procured its eggs. These are said to have been three in number, described as light olive, blotched with black more thickly at one end than the other. No mention of shape is made. This description, incomplete as it is, indicates a great dissimilarity with eggs of this bird, fully identified in the Smithsonian collection.
The western variety was met with by Mr. Ridgway throughout the entire extent of his route across the Great Basin. It bred everywhere, laying its eggs on the bare ground, beneath a sage-bush, usually on the foot-hills of the mountains, or on the mesas. In August and September they congregate in immense flocks, appearing in the evening. Not the slightest difference in habits, manners, or notes, was observed between this and the eastern Night-Hawk.
Chordeiles acutipennis, var. texensis, Lawrence.
TEXAS NIGHT-HAWK.
Chordeiles brasilianus, Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyceum, V, May, 1851, 114 (not of Gmelin).—Cassin, Ill. I, 1855, 238. Chordeiles sapiti, Bon. Conspectus Avium, I, 1849, 63. Chordeiles texensis, Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VI, Dec. 1856, 167.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 154, pl. xliv.—Ib. M. B. II, Birds, 7, pl. vi.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 345. Caprimulgus texensis, Warthausen, Cab. J. 1868, 376 (nesting).
Sp. Char. Much smaller than C. virginianus, but somewhat similar. White on the wing extending over only four outer primaries, the bases of which, as well as the remaining ones, with other quills, have round rufous spots on both webs. Under tail-coverts and abdomen with a strong yellowish-rufous tinge. Female more rufous and without the white spot of the tail. Length, 8.75; wing, 7.00.
Hab. Basins of Rio Grande, Gila, and Colorado Rivers, and west to Gulf of California; South as far, at least, as Costa Rica. Localities: Matamoras to San Antonio (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 471, breeds); W. Arizona (Coues; P. A. N. S. 1866, 58); Costa Rica (Lawr. An. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 120); Yucatan (Lawr. N. Y. Lyc. IX, 204).
The markings of this species are quite different from those of Chordeiles popetue. In average specimens the prevailing color above may be described as a mixed gray, yellowish-rusty, black, and brown, in varied but very fine mottlings. The top of the head is rather uniformly brown, with a few mottlings of grayish-rusty, although the concealed portion of the feathers is much varied. On the nape is a finely mottled collar of grayish and black, not very conspicuously defined, and rather interrupted on the median line. A similar collar is seen on the forepart of the breast. The middle of the back and the rump exhibit a coarser mottling of the same without any rufous. The scapulars and wing-coverts are beautifully variegated, much as in some of the Waders, the pattern very irregular and scarcely capable of definition. There are, however, a good many large round spots of pale yellowish-rusty, very conspicuous among the other markings. There is quite a large blotch of white on the wing, situated considerably nearer the tip than the carpal joint. It only involves four primaries, and extends across both outer and inner webs. The four first primaries anterior to the white blotches, and the remaining ones nearly from their tips, exhibit a series of large round rufous spots not seen in the other North American species. The other wing-quills have also similar markings. There is a large V-shaped white mark on the throat, as in C. virginianus, though rather larger proportionally. Posterior to this there are some rather conspicuous blotches of rufous, behind which is the obscure finely mottled collar of gray and brown already referred to. The breast and remaining under parts are dull white transversely banded with brown, with a strong tinge of yellowish-rufous on the abdomen, about the vent, and on the under tail-coverts. The tail is dark brown with about eight transverse bars of lighter; the last are
white, and extend across both vanes; the others less continuous, and yellowish-rufous beneath as well as above, especially on the inner vane.
The females are quite similar, but lack the white patch of the tail, have more numerous rufous spots on quills, and are perhaps more fulvous in general appearance. Young birds, however, would hardly be recognized as the same, except when taken with adults, owing to the predominance of a pale cinnamon shade above, and a decided tinge of the same on all the white and gray markings. Nearly all the primaries have a border of this color.
The variety acutipennis of South America (see synopsis) is very similar, differing merely in smaller dimensions.
Habits. The Texan Night-Hawk occurs in the valley of the Rio Grande from Texas on the east, through New Mexico, Arizona, Southern California, and Cape San Lucas. It is found in the northern provinces of Mexico during the summer months, and thence southward to Central America. It was found at Dueñas, in Guatemala, by Mr. Salvin, and also at Coban. Mr. Xantus found it breeding at Cape San Lucas in May.
This species was first added to our fauna by Mr. Lawrence, in 1851, as a bird of Texas, supposed to be C. brasilianus, and in 1856 described by the same writer as a new species.
According to Dr. Cooper, it makes its first appearance at Fort Mohave by the 17th of April, and soon after becomes quite numerous, hunting in companies after sunset, and hiding during the day on the ground under low bushes. By the 25th of May they had all paired, but continued nearly silent, making only a low croaking when approached. They flew in the manner of the common species, but seemed to sail in rather smaller circles. Dr. Cooper found them as far west as the Coast Mountains.
Dr. Coues states that this species is common in the Colorado Valley, even farther north than the latitude of Fort Whipple. It was not, however, met with by him at that port, nor indeed for some fifty miles to the south of it, and then only in the summer. He adds that it extends from the Rio Grande Valley westward to the Pacific. It was found abundant at Cape St. Lucas by Dr. Xantus.
Mr. Dresser found it very common at Matamoras during the summer season, and thence to San Antonio and to the eastward of that place. At San Antonio, in the spring, he first noticed them on the 2d of May, when he saw seven or eight flying about at noonday. A few days later they had become very numerous. They remained about San Antonio until the end of September, and soon after disappeared. He noticed none later than the first week in October.
Mr. J. H. Clark met with this species at Ringgold Barracks, Texas, in June. They were to be seen sitting about in the heat of the day, at which time they could be easily approached. During the hottest days they did not sally forth in quest of food until late in the evening. On one occasion, near
El Paso, Mr. Clark saw these birds congregated in such quantities over a mud-hole from which were issuing myriads of insects, that he felt that the discharge among them of mustard-seed shot would involve a wanton destruction. This species is not known, according to his account, to make a swoop in the manner of the common species. It does not utter the same hoarse sounds, nor does it ever fly so high.
Among the notes of the late Dr. Berlandier, of Matamoras, we find references to this species, to which he gives the common name of Pauraque, and in his collection of eggs are many that unquestionably are those of this bird, and which are, in all respects but size, in close affinity to the eggs of the common Night-Hawk. These eggs measure 1.18 inches in length by .87 of an inch in breadth. Their ground-color, seen through a magnifying glass, is of clear crystal whiteness, but is so closely covered by overlaying markings as not to be discernible to the eye. They are marked over the entire surface with small irregular confluent spots and blotches, which are a blending of black, umber, and purplish-gray markings. These combinations give to the egg the appearance of a piece of polished marble of a dark gray color. They are both smaller and of a lighter color than those of the common eastern bird.
Genus ANTROSTOMUS, Gould.
Antrostomus, Gould, Icones Avium, 1838. (Type, Caprimulgus carolinensis, Gm.)
Antrostomus nuttalli.
Gen. Char. Bill very small, with tubular nostrils, and the gape with long, stiff, sometimes pectinated bristles projecting beyond the end of the bill. Tarsi moderate, partly feathered above. Tail broad, rounded; wings broad and rounded; first quill shorter than third; plumage soft and lax. Habit nocturnal.
In what the genus Antrostomus really differs from Caprimulgus proper, we are quite unable to say, as in the many variations of form of both New and Old World species of these two divisions respectively, it is said to be not difficult to find species in each, almost identical in form. In the want of suitable material for comparison, we shall follow Sclater in using Antrostomus for the New World species.
Species and Varieties.[105]
A. Bristles of gape with lateral filaments. Light tail-spaces confined to inner web of feathers.
Dark markings on crown longitudinal. Ochraceous or white gular collar in form of a narrow band across jugulum.
A. carolinensis. Throat ochraceous, with sparse, narrow, transverse bars of black; jugular collar more whitish, with broader but more distant black bars. Crissum barred, and inner webs of primaries with black prevailing. Wing, 8.90; tail, 6.30. Hab. Louisianian region of the Eastern Province of United States (Florida and the Carolinas to Arkansas). Costa Rica.
B. Bristles of gape without lateral filaments; light tail-spaces covering both webs.
a. Throat black, with sparse, narrow, transverse bars of pale brown. Crissum barred, and inner webs of primaries with black greatly predominating.
A. macromystax. Crown pale brown and whitish very coarsely mottled with dusky; lower parts clouded with whitish, in conspicuous contrast with the ground color. Light tail patch restricted to less than terminal third, and decreasing in breadth toward the middle feathers. Bristles of gape enormously long and stout; bill compressed, nostrils large.
White patch on end of tail confined to three outer feathers, and decreasing very rapidly in extent to the inner. Wing, 6.60; tail, 5.30; rictal bristles, 1.40. Hab. Mexico (Mirador, La Parada) … var. macromystax.[106]
White patch on end of tail, on four outer feathers, and just appreciably decreasing in extent toward the inner. Wing, 7.00; tail, 5.50; rictal bristles, 2.00. Hab. Cuba … var. cubanensis.[107]
A. vociferus. Crown ash, finely mottled or minutely sprinkled with dusky; lower parts without whitish cloudings. White tail-patch covering more than terminal half, and decreasing in breadth toward the outer feather. Bristles of gape moderate, slender; bill weaker, less compressed, and nostrils smaller. Wing, 6.40; tail, 5.10; rictal bristles, 1.50 or less. Hab. Eastern Province of North America, south to Guatemala.
Dark markings of crown transverse. Gular collar pure white, covering nearly whole throat.
b. Throat pure white, without any markings. Crissum immaculate; inner webs of primaries with ochraceous very largely predominating.
A. nuttalli. White space of tail occupying about the terminal fourth, or less, on three feathers, and gradually decreasing inwardly. Wing, 5.75; tail, 3.90; rictal bristles less than 1.00. Hab. Western Province of United States, from the Plains to the Pacific.
Antrostomus carolinensis, Gould.
CHUCK-WILL’S WIDOW.
Caprimulgus carolinensis, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 1028.—Aud. Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 273, pl. lii; V, 1839, 401.—Ib. Birds Am. I, 1840, 151, pl. xli.—Warthausen, Cab. J. 1868, 368 (nesting). Antrostomus carolinensis, Gould, Icones Avium, 1838?—Cassin, Illust. N. Am. Birds, I, 1855, 236.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 147.—Allen, B. Fla. 300. Caprimulgus rufus, Vieillot, Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 57, pl. xxv (♀). Caprimulgus brachypterus, Stephens, Shaw’s Zoöl. X, I, 1825? 150. Short-winged Goatsucker, Pennant, Arctic Zoöl. II, 1785, 434.
Antrostomus carolinensis.
6493 ♂
Sp. Char. Bristles of the bill with lateral filaments. Wing nearly nine inches long. Top of the head finely mottled reddish-brown, longitudinally streaked with black. The prevailing shade above and below pale rufous. Terminal two-thirds of the tail-feathers (except the four central) rufous white; outer webs of all mottled, however, nearly to the tips. Female without the white patch on the tail. Length, 12.00; wing, 8.50.
Hab. South Atlantic and Gulf States to Veragua; Cuba in winter. Cuba (Caban. J. IV, 6, winter); San Antonio, Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 70, breeds); Costa Rica (Lawr. IX, 120); Veragua (Salvin, P. Z. S. 1870, 303).
This, according to Sclater, is the largest of the Antrostomi and the only species with lateral filaments to the bristles of the mouth.
The extent of the white spaces on the inner webs of tail-feathers varies with the individual, but in none does it occupy less than the terminal half.
PLATE XLVI.
1. Antrostomus carolinensis. ♂ Florida, 17160.
2. Antrostomus vociferus. ♂ D. C., 12085.
3. Antrostomus nuttalli. ♂ Wyoming, 38324.
4. Chordeiles henryi. ♂ Wyoming, 38323.
5. Chordeiles texensis. ♂ Texas, 42189.
6. Centronyx ochrocephalus. Colorado.
7. Setophaga picta. ♂ Mexico, 30705.
8. Peucæa carpalis. Arizona, 62372.
9. Passerculus caboti. Nahant, 62373.
The A. rufus (Caprimulgus rufus, Bodd. et Gmel. ex Pl. Enl. 735 (?);
Antrostomus r. Sclater, P. Z. S. 1866, 136; A. rutilus, Burm. Syst. Ueb. II, 385) and A. ornatus (Scl. P. Z. S. 1866, 586, pl. xlv), of South America, appear to be the nearest relatives of this species, agreeing very closely in coloration; but both have the rictal bristles simple, without lateral filaments, and would thus seem to be distinct species. In the latter, the white spaces of the tail are found only on the second and third feathers, instead of on the outer three, while the former is said to have no such markings at all.
Habits. The exact extent of the geographical range of this species is not very clearly defined. Rarely anywhere a very abundant species, it is more common throughout Florida than in any other State. It is also found, more or less frequently, in the States of Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Dr. Woodhouse mentions finding it common in the Creek and Cherokee countries of the Indian Territory, and also extending into Texas and New Mexico. Mr. Dresser noticed several of this species on the Medina River, in Texas, April 28, and afterwards in May. On the 18th of the same month he again found it very numerous at New Braunfels, and also, on the 20th, at Bastrop. Dr. Heermann states that these birds visit the neighborhood of San Antonio in the spring, and remain there to raise their young.
James River, Virginia, has been assigned as the extreme northern limit of its migrations, but I can find no evidence of its occurring so far north, except as an accidental visitant. Wilson, indeed, claims to have met with it between Richmond and Petersburg, and also on the Cumberland River. Dr. Bachman states that it is not a common bird even in the neighborhood of Charleston. Mr. Audubon, who claimed to be a very close and careful observer of the habits of this species, states that it is seldom to be met with beyond the then southern limits of the Choctaw nation, in Mississippi, or the Carolinas on the Atlantic coast.
I have been informed by Dr. Kollock that these birds are rather common at Cheraw, in the northern part of South Carolina. Dr. Bryant found them quite abundant near Indian River, in Florida, though he makes no mention of them in his paper on the birds of that State. Mr. Cassin informed me that Colonel McCall met with this bird in New Mexico. Lembeye includes it among the birds of Cuba, but in reality refers to cubanensis.
These birds, according to Mr. Audubon, are not residents, but make their appearance within the United States about the middle of March. They are nocturnal in their habits, remaining silent and keeping within the shady recesses of the forests during the daytime. As soon as the sun has disappeared and the night insects are in motion, this species issues forth from its retreat, and begins to give utterance to the peculiar cries from which it receives its trivial name, and which are said to resemble the syllables chuck-wills-wi-dow. These sounds are said to be repeated with great rapidity, yet with clearness and power, six or seven times in as many seconds. They are only uttered for a brief period in the early evening.
Mr. Audubon states that deep ravines, shady swamps, and extensive pine groves, are resorted to by this species for safety during the day, and for food during the night. Their notes are seldom heard in cloudy weather, and never during rain. They roost in hollow trees, standing as well as prostrate, which they never leave by day except during incubation. He adds that whenever he has surprised them in such situations they never attempt to make their escape by flying out, but draw back to the farthest corner, ruffle their feathers, open their mouths to the fullest extent, and utter a hissing sound. When taken to the light, they open and close their eyes in rapid succession, snap their bills in the manner of a Flycatcher, and attempt to shuffle off. When given their liberty, they fly straight forward until quite out of sight, readily passing between the trees in their course.
The flight of this bird is light, like that of the Whippoorwill, and even more elevated and graceful. It is performed by easy flapping of the wings, with occasional sailings and curving sweeps. It sweeps, at night, over the open fields, ascending, descending, or sailing with graceful motions in pursuit of night beetles, moths, and other insects, repeatedly passing and repassing over the same area, and occasionally alighting on the ground to capture its prey. Occasionally it pauses to alight on a stake or a tall plant, and again utters its peculiar refrain, and then resumes its search for insects. And thus it passes pleasant summer nights.
Like all the birds of this family, the Chuck-will’s Widow makes no nest, but deposits her eggs on the ground, often among a collection of dry deciduous leaves, in the forest. These are two in number, and the spot chosen for them are thickets, and the darker and more solitary portions of woods. Dr. Bryant, who took several of their eggs in Florida, informed me that they were in each instance found deposited on beds of dry leaves, but with no attempt at any nest, and always in thick woods.
Sometimes, Mr. Audubon thinks, the parent bird scratches a small space on the ground, among the leaves, before she deposits her eggs. If either their eggs or their young are meddled with, these birds are sure to take the alarm and transport them to some distant part of the forest. In this both parents take part. After this removal Mr. Audubon found it impossible, even with the aid of a dog, to find them again. On one occasion he actually witnessed the act of removal of the eggs, and presumed that they also treat the young in the same manner when they are quite small. The eggs were carried off in the capacious mouths of these birds, each parent taking one and flying off, skimming closely to the ground until lost to sight among the branches and the trees. To what distance they were carried he was unable to ascertain.
During the period of incubation they are silent, and do not repeat their peculiar cries until just before they are preparing to depart on their southern migrations, in August.
The food of these birds consists chiefly, if not altogether, of the larger
nocturnal insects, for swallowing which their mouths are admirably adapted, opening with a prodigious expansion, and assisted by numerous long bristles, which prevent the escape of an insect once within their enclosure. In a single instance the remains of a small bird are said to have been found within the stomach of one of this species.
The inner side of each middle claw of the Chuck-will’s Widow is deeply pectinated. The apparent use of this appendage, as in the other species in which it is found, appears to be as an aid in adjusting the plumage, and perhaps to assist in removing vermin.
The eggs of this bird are never more than two in number. They are oval in shape, large for the size of the bird, and alike at either end. Their ground-color is a clear crystal white. They are more or less spotted, and marked over their entire surface with blotches of varying size, of a dark purplish-brown, and cloudings of a grayish-lavender color, with smaller occasional markings of a light raw-umber brown. In shape and markings they very closely resemble those of the Whippoorwill, differing chiefly in their much larger size. They measure 1.44 inches in length by 1.06 in breadth.
Antrostomus vociferus, Bonap.
WHIPPOORWILL.
Caprimulgus vociferus, Wilson, Am. Orn. V, 1812, 71, pl. xli, f. 1, 2, 3.—Aud. Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 443; V, 405, pl. lxxxv.—Ib. Birds Am. I, 1840, 155, pl. xlii.—Max. Cab. J. VI, 1858, 98. Antrostomus vociferus, Bonap. List, 1838.—Cassin, J. A. N. Sc. II, 1852, 122.—Ib. Ill. I, 1855, 236.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 148.—Samuels, 119.—Allen, B. Fla. 300. Caprimulgus virginianus, Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. I, 1807, 55, pl. xxv. “Caprimulgus clamator, Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. X, 1817, 234” (Cassin). Caprimulgus vociferans, Warthausen, Cab. J. 1868, 369 (nesting).
Sp. Char. Bristles without lateral filaments. Wing about 6.50 inches long. Top of the head ashy-brown, longitudinally streaked with black. Terminal half of the tail-feathers (except the four central) dirty white on both outer and inner webs. Length, 10.00; wing, 6.50. Female without white on the tail.
Hab. Eastern United States to the Plains; south to Guatemala (Tehuantepec, Orizaba, Guatemala). Coban (Salv. Ibis, II, 275).
In this species the bristles at the base of the bill, though stiff and long, are without the lateral filaments of the Chuck-will’s Widow. The wings are rather short; the second quill longest; the first intermediate between the third and fourth. The tail is rounded; the outer feathers about half an inch shorter than the middle ones.
The colors of this species are very difficult to describe, although there is quite a similarity to those of A. carolinensis, from which its greatly inferior size will at once distinguish it. The top of the head is an ashy gray, finely mottled, with a broad median stripe of black; all the feathers with a narrow stripe of the same along their centres. The back and rump are somewhat
similar, though of a different shade. There is a collar of white on the under side of the neck, posterior to which the upper part of the breast is finely mottled, somewhat as on the top of the head. The belly is dirty white, with indistinct transverse bands and mottlings of brown. The wings are brown; each quill with a series of round rufous spots on both webs, quite conspicuous on the outer side of the primaries when the wings are folded. The terminal half of the outer three tail-feathers is of a dirty white.
The female is smaller; the collar on the throat is tinged with fulvous. The conspicuous white patch of the tail is wanting, the tips only of the outer three feathers being of a pale brownish-fulvous.
Mexican and Guatemalan specimens are identical with those from the United States.
Habits. The well-known Whippoorwill has an extended range throughout the eastern portion of North America, from the Atlantic to the valley of the Missouri, and from Southern Florida to about the 50th parallel of north latitude. Dr. Richardson observed this bird on the northern shores of Lake Huron, but did not meet with it at any point farther north. It is found throughout New England and in portions of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but is rare in the latter places, and is not common in the vicinity of Calais. It breeds from Florida northward. It has not been found as far west as Texas. It was noticed by Mr. Say at Pembina. It is given by Dr. Hall, of Montreal, as common in that neighborhood, and by Mr. McIlwraith as an abundant summer resident around Hamilton, Canada. Dr. Lembeye names it as a resident Cuban species, and Dr. Gundlach informed me that he had taken its eggs within that island. I have also received its eggs from various portions of Florida.
The Whippoorwill is nowhere a resident species in any portion of the United States. They make their appearance in the Southern States early in March, and very gradually proceed northward, entering Pennsylvania early in April, but not being seen in New York or New England until the last of that month, and sometimes not until the 10th of May. Mr. Maynard mentions their first appearance in Massachusetts as from the 19th to the 24th of May, but I have repeatedly known them in full cry near Boston at least a fortnight earlier than this, and in the western part of the State Mr. Allen has noted their arrival by the 25th of April. They leave in the latter part of September. Mr. Allen also observed the abundant presence of these birds in Western Iowa, where he heard their notes as late as the 20th of September.
In its habits the Whippoorwill is very nearly the counterpart of the carolinensis. Like that bird, it is exclusively nocturnal, keeping, during the day, closely within the recesses of dark woods, and remaining perfectly silent, uttering no note even when disturbed in these retreats. In very cloudy weather, late in the day, these birds may be seen hunting for insects, but this is not usual, and they utter no sound until it is quite dark.
Like the preceding species, this bird receives its common name of Whippoorwill from its nocturnal cry, which has some slight resemblance to these three sounds; but the cry is so rapidly enunciated and so incessantly repeated that a fertile imagination may give various interpretations to the sounds. They are never uttered when the bird is in motion, but usually at short intervals, when resting on a fence, or bush, or any other object near the ground.
Their flight is noiseless to an incredible degree, and they rarely fly far at a time. They are usually very shy, and are easily startled if approached. At night, as soon as the twilight disappears, these birds issue from their retreats, and fly out into more open spaces in quest of their favorite food. As many of the nocturnal insects, moths, beetles, and others, are attracted about dwellings by lights, the Whippoorwill is frequently enticed, in pursuit, into the same vicinity. For several successive seasons these birds have appeared nearly every summer evening within my grounds, often within a few feet of the house. They never suffer a very near approach, but fly as soon as they notice any movement. Their pursuit of insects is somewhat different from that narrated of the preceding species, their flights being usually quite brief, without any perceptible sailing, and more in the manner of Flycatchers. Their song is given out at intervals throughout the night, until near the dawn.
The nocturnal habits of this bird have prevented a general or accurate knowledge of its true character. Strange as it may seem, in many parts of the country the Night-Hawk and the Whippoorwill are supposed to be one and the same bird, even by those not ill informed in other respects. This was found to be the case in Pennsylvania by Wilson, and is equally true of many portions of New England, though disputed by Mr. Audubon.
Like the Chuck-will’s Widow, this species removes its eggs, and also its young, to a distant and safer locality, if they are visited and handled. Wilson once, in passing through a piece of wood, came accidentally upon a young bird of this species. The parent attempted to draw him away by well-feigned stratagems. Wilson stopped and sketched the bird, and, returning again, after a short absence, to the same place, in search of a pencil he had left behind, found that the bird had been spirited away by its vigilant parent.
When disturbed by an intrusive approach, the Whippoorwill resorts to various expedients to divert attention to herself from her offspring. She flutters about as if wounded and unable to fly, beats the ground with her wings as if not able to rise from it, and enacts these feints in a manner to deceive even the most wary, risking her own life to save her offspring.
The Whippoorwills construct no nest, but deposit their eggs in the thickest and most shady portions of the woods, among fallen leaves, in hollows slightly excavated for that purpose, or upon the leaves themselves. For this purpose elevated and dry places are always selected, often near some
fallen log. There they deposit two eggs, elliptical in shape. Their young, when first hatched, are perfectly helpless, and their safety largely depends upon their great similarity to small pieces of mouldy earth. They grow rapidly, and are soon able to follow their mother and to partially care for themselves.
The egg of the Whippoorwill has a strong family resemblance to those of both species of European Caprimulgi, and is a complete miniature of that of A. carolinensis. In shape it is oblong and oval, equally obtuse at either end. Resembling the egg of the Chuck-will’s Widow, it is yet more noticeable for the purity of its colors and the beauty of their contrast. The ground-color is a clear and pure shade of cream-white. The whole egg is irregularly spotted and marbled with lines and patches of purplish-lavender, mingled with reddish-brown. The former are fainter, and as if partially obscured, the brown usually much more distinct. The eggs measure 1.25 inches in length by .88 of an inch in breadth. Wilson’s account of its egg is wholly inaccurate.
In the extreme Southern States these eggs are deposited in April, in Virginia and Pennsylvania about the middle of May, and farther north not until early in June. The young are hatched and able to care for themselves during July, but, with the female, rarely leave the woods. The notes of the male are once more occasionally heard in August. Mr. Allen has heard them late in September, but I have never happened to notice their cries later than August.
Mr. Nuttall states that the young of these birds, at an early age, run about with remarkable celerity, and that they utter, at short intervals a pé-ūgh, in a low mournful tone. Their food appears to consist of various kinds of nocturnal insects, besides ants, grasshoppers, and other kinds not nocturnal, frequenting decaying wood and shady thickets.
Left foot of Antrostomus vociferus.
Left foot of Nyctibius jamaicensis.
NUTTALL’S WHIPPOORWILL; POOR-WILL.
Caprimulgus nuttalli, Aud. Birds Am. VII, 1843, pl. ccccxcv, Appendix. Antrostomus nuttalli, Cassin, J. A. N. Sc. Phila. 2d series, II, 1852, 123.—Ib. Ill. I, 1855, 237.—Newberry, Zoöl. Cal. and Oregon Route, 77; Rep. P. R. R. Surv. VI, IV.—Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 149.—Cooper & Suckley, 166.—Cooper, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 341.
Sp. Char. Rictal bristles without any lateral filaments; wing, about 5.50; the top of the head hoary gray, with narrow and transverse, not longitudinal bands. Tail above, except the central feathers, nearly black on the terminal half, the extreme tip only (in the outer feather of each side) being white for nearly an inch, diminishing on the second and third. Length, 8.00; wing, 5.50. Female without the white tip of tail. Audubon describes the male as follows: “Bill, black; iris, dark hazel; feet, reddish-purple; scales and claws, darker; general color of upper parts dark brownish-gray, lighter on the head and medial tail-feathers, which extend half an inch beyond the others, all which are minutely streaked and sprinkled with brownish-black and ash-gray. Quills and coverts dull cinnamon color, spotted in bars with brownish-black; tips of former mottled with light and dark brown; three lateral tail-feathers barred with dark brown and cinnamon, and tipped with white. Throat brown, annulated with black; a band of white across foreneck; beneath the latter black, mixed with bars of light yellowish-gray and black lines. Under tail-coverts dull yellow. Length, 7.25; wing, 5.75; bill, edge, .19; second and third quills nearly equal. Tail to end of upper feathers, 3.50; tarsus, .63; middle toe, .63; claw, .25; strongly pectinated.”
Hab. High Central Plains to the Pacific coast. San Antonio, Texas (Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 471, breeds); W. Arizona (Coues, P. A. N. S. 1866, 58); Guanajuata, Mex. (Salvin, p. 1014).
Nuttall’s Whippoorwill is readily distinguished from the other North American species by the transverse, not longitudinal, lines on the top of head, the narrow white tip of tail on both webs, and the inferior size, as well as by numerous other points of difference.
Habits. This species was first described by Mr. Audubon from a specimen obtained near the Rocky Mountains, but with no information in regard to any peculiarities of habit. From Mr. Nuttall we learn that these birds were first observed by him on the 10th of June, amidst the naked granite hills of the sources of the Upper Platte River, called Sweet-Water. It was about twilight, and from the clefts of the rocks they were uttering at intervals a low wailing cry, in the manner of the Whippoorwill, and sounding like the cry of the young of that species, or pē-cū. Afterwards, on the 7th of August, when encamped on the high ravine of the insulated mountains so conspicuous from Lewis River, called the Three Buttes, this bird was again observed, as it flew from under a stone near the summit of the mountain. It flew about hawking for insects near their elevated camp, for two or three hours, but was now silent. On the 16th of June, near the banks of the Sandy River of the Colorado, Mr. Nuttall again heard its nocturnal cry, which he says sounded like pēvai.
Dr. Cooper did not meet with this bird in the Colorado Valley, but he heard their nocturnal call, which he says sounds like poor-will, on the barren mountains west of the valley, in May. He has never seen or heard any west of the Coast Range, nor in the Santa Clara Valley in the spring. They are, however, said to be common in the hot interior valleys, and remain near San Francisco as late as November, usually hiding on the ground, and flying at dusk in short, fitful courses in pursuit of insects. Dr. Cooper adds that they inhabit the almost bare and barren sage-plains east of the Sierra Nevada, where their rather sad whistle is heard all night during the spring, sounding like an echoing answer to the cry of the eastern species.
Dr. Suckley, in the Report on the Zoölogy of Washington Territory, speaks of this species as moderately abundant in the interior of that Territory, as well as of Oregon. East of the Cascade Mountains, at Fort Dalles, they can be heard on almost any fine night in spring or early summer. Their cries closely resemble those of the vociferus, but are more feeble, and not so incessantly kept up. Dr. Cooper, in the same report, also speaks of finding this bird common near the Yakima River, in 1853. Two specimens were killed in the daytime by a whip. Late in the evening he found them flying near the ground. Dr. Woodhouse, in passing down the Little Colorado River, in New Mexico, found this bird quite abundant, as also among the San Francisco Mountains.
Dr. Newberry met with this species in all the parts of California and Oregon visited by him. Near the shores of Rhett Lake he met with its nest containing two young nearly ready to fly. The old bird fluttered off as if disabled, and by her cries and strange movements induced one of the party to pursue her. The young resembled those of the eastern species, were of a gray-brown color, marbled with black, and had large, dark, and soft eyes. They were quite passive when caught.
This species was observed by Mr. J. H. Clark near Rio Mimbres, in New Mexico. From the manner in which it flew, it seemed so similar to the Woodcock that until a specimen was obtained it was supposed to belong to that family. He saw none east of the Rio Grande, but met with it as far west as Santa Cruz. It was nowhere abundant, and was generally solitary. It was found usually among the tall grass of the valleys, and occasionally on the plains. It was only once observed to alight upon a bush, but almost invariably, when started up, it flew down again among the grass at a short distance.
A single specimen of this bird was taken by Dr. Kennerly on the Great Colorado River. Dr. Heermann met with two specimens among the mountains bordering the Tejon Valley, and he was informed by Dr. Milhau that a small species of Whippoorwill was abundant round that fort in the spring and summer.
Dr. Heermann killed one of these birds on the Medina, in Texas; and during the summer, passing along Devil’s River, he heard their notes every evening, and judged that the birds were abundant. Mr. Dresser obtained a
single specimen, shot near the town of San Antonio, where it was of uncommon occurrence. He received also another specimen from Fort Stockton. During his stay at Matamoras he did not notice this bird, but was informed that a kind resembling this species was very common at a rancho about twenty-five miles distant, on the Monterey road. Dr. Coues found this species particularly abundant throughout Arizona. At Fort Whipple it was a summer resident, arriving there late in April and remaining until October. So numerous was it in some localities, that around the campfires of the traveller a perfect chorus of their plaintive two-syllabled notes was continued incessantly through the night, some of the performers being so near that the sharp click of their mandibles was distinctly audible.
Mr. J. A. Allen found this species abundant on the lower parts of the mountains in Colorado, and heard the notes of scores of them near the mouth of Ogden Cañon on several occasions after nightfall. Though so numerous, all efforts to procure specimens were futile, as it did not usually manifest its presence till after it became too dark for it to be clearly distinguished. He saw it last, October 7, during a severe snow-storm on the mountains north of Ogden. It had been quite common during the greater part of September. He also met with this bird at an elevation of 7,000 feet. He had previously ascertained its presence throughout Kansas from Leavenworth to Fort Hays.
From these varied observations the range of this species may be given as from the valley of the Rio Grande and the more northern States of Mexico, throughout New Mexico, Arizona, and the Great Plains nearly to the Pacific, in California, Oregon, and Washington Territory.
The egg of this species (13,587) was obtained among the East Humboldt Mountains, by Mr. Robert Ridgway, July 20, 1868. Its measurement is 1.06 inches in length by .81 of an inch in breadth. It is of a regularly elliptical form, being equally rounded at either end. Its color is a clear dead-white, entirely unspotted. The egg was found deposited on the bare ground beneath a sage-bush, on a foot-slope of the mountains. The nest was nothing more than a bare spot, apparently worn by the body of the bird. When found, the male bird was sitting on the egg, and was shot as it flew from the spot.
Mr. Salvin (Ibis, III, p. 64) mentions taking, April 20, 1860, on the mountains of Santa Barbara, Central America, a species of Antrostomus, a female, with two eggs. This is spoken of as nearly allied to, perhaps identical with, A. vociferus. Its eggs are, however, spoken of as white, measuring 1.05 inches by .80 of an inch, almost exactly the size of the eggs of this species. Mr. Salvin adds: “I do not quite understand these eggs being white, except by supposing them to be accidentally so. In other respects, i. e. in form and texture, they agree with the eggs of other species of Caprimulgidæ. These eggs, two in number, were on the ground at the foot of a large pine-tree. There was no nest.”
In regard to the parentage of the eggs thus discovered, the coloration and size of which correspond so closely with those of the Poor-will, Mr. Salvin writes, in a letter dated March 10, 1872: “In respect to the Antrostomus which lays white eggs in Guatemala, I have carefully examined the skin of the female sent to me with the eggs in question, and represented as their parent. It certainly is not A. nuttalli, but appears to belong to the species described by Wagler as A. macromystax. This species is very closely allied to A. vociferus, but appears to be sufficiently distinct, inasmuch as the rictal bristles are very long, the throat is almost without white feathers, and the white on the tail is more limited in extent than in A. vociferus. The true A. vociferus is frequently found in winter in Guatemala, but is probably only a migrant. The other species would certainly appear to be a resident in South Mexico and Guatemala. With respect to A. nuttalli, I may add that I have recently acquired a skin from Guanajuata, in Mexico. This is the first instance of the occurrence of the species in Mexico at all, that I am aware of.”
Mr. Ridgway met with the Poor-will from the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada to the Wahsatch and Uintah Mountains. He describes its notes as much like those of the eastern A. vociferus, except that the first syllable is left off, the call sounding like simply poor-will, the accent on the last syllable. It frequents chiefly the dry mesa and foot-hills of the mountains, and lives almost entirely on the ground, where its two white unspotted eggs are deposited beneath some small scraggy sage-bush, without any sign of a nest whatever. Both sexes incubate.
Sternum of Chordeiles virginianus.
Sternum of Nyctibius jamaicensis.
Sternum of Caprimulgus stictomus.