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).