Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds, and Their Allies (continued 8)

The practice of killing nighthawks was stopped through laws and by educational methods initiated by the National Association of Audubon Societies. William Dutcher (1902), in writing of conditions in Florida, stated, “It is believed, on very satisfactory evidence that the new law has stopped to a large degree the disgraceful practice of shooting ‘bull-bats’ or Nighthawks (Chordeiles virginianus) for sport.” Bird-Lore for September-October 1903 published the following note: “The Night-hawk, or Bullbat, has been so long considered a legitimate target for shotgun practice, in the south, that a report of prosecution for killing these birds at Greensboro, North Carolina, marks a new era of bird protection in our southern states.”

Enemies.—The greatest enemy of the nighthawk has been man. In the past great numbers of the birds were killed for food and often for mere sport or for satisfying a lust for killing. This was especially true in the Southern States, where the birds were slaughtered during the great flights of the annual migrations.

Nighthawks nesting on the ground are subject to the same enemies experienced by other species of ground-nesting birds. Night hawks nesting on roofs are usually free from such molestation, but Albert F. Ganier informs me that he has known of sparrow hawks invading the cities and preying upon the nighthawks, especially the young. Cats and dogs become enemies of the city dwellers in the event the young leave the nest prematurely and land on the streets below.

Nighthawks have a remarkable protective coloration and have developed methods of deception such as imitating a wounded individual when an enemy approaches the nesting site. At times they assume an attitude of aggression; i. e., raising their elongated wings in a vertical position and hissing in defiance at an intruder.

DISTRIBUTION

Range.—The Western Hemisphere generally, from Yukon to Patagonia.

Breeding range.—The breeding range of the nighthawk extends north to Yukon (Sixty-mile River and probably Lapierres House); Mackenzie probably Fort Goodhope, (probably Fort Franklin, Fort Resolution, and Hill Island Lake); northern Saskatchewan (Methye Portage, Stanley, and Reindeer River); northern Manitoba (probably Du Brochet Lake, Grand Rapids, and probably Churchill); northern Ontario (Martin Falls, probably Fort Albany, and probably Moose Factory); and Quebec (Lake Mistassini, Godbout, and Mingan Island). The eastern boundary of the range extends from this point southward through the coastal regions of the Maritime Provinces, the Eastern United States, the Bahama Islands (Nassau), to Puerto Rico (Mayaguez). South to Puerto Rico (Mayaguez); Haiti (Hinche and Jean Rubel); Jamaica (Port Henderson and Grand Cayman); Cuba (Isle of Pines); southern Texas (Brownsville, San Antonio, Kerrville, and Pecos); Chihuahua (Babicora); Sonora (Oposura and Los Nogales); and southern California (San Bernardino Mountains and Pine Knot). West to California (Pine Knot, Mona Lake, Grass Valley, and Eureka); western Oregon (Medford, Eugene, Corvallis, Portland, and St. Helen); western Washington (Bumping Lake, Gig Harbor, Seattle, and Blaine); British Columbia (Errington, Courtenay, Fort St. James, and Hazleton); southeastern Alaska (Wrangell); and western Yukon (Carcross, Whitehorse, and Sixty-mile River).

Winter range.—When the numerical abundance and extensive breeding range of this species are considered, it is surprising that knowledge concerning the winter range should be extremely limited. It seems certain, however, that it is entirely in South America north to Colombia (Antioquia); Venezuela (Orinoco Valley); and central Brazil (Matto Grosso). East to southeastern Brazil (Matto Grosso, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro); Uruguay (Concepcion); and Argentina (Barracas and La Plata). South to central Argentina (La Plata and Cordova). West to Argentina (Cordova, Santiago, Tucuman, and the Gran Chaco); western Paraguay (Asuncion); western Brazil (Chapada); western Ecuador (Portoviejo); and western Colombia (Bogota and Antioquia).

The outline presented is for the entire species, which has, however, been separated into seven subspecies, or geographic races. The typical eastern nighthawk (C. m. minor) breeds in the eastern part of the continent west to the edge of the Great Plains from Oklahoma to Minnesota and in Canada to British Columbia and southern Yukon; the Florida nighthawk (C. m. chapmani) nests in the Gulf and South Atlantic States north to Arkansas, southern Illinois, central Alabama, and central North Carolina and west to eastern Texas; Howell’s nighthawk (C. m. howelli) breeds in the southern part of the Great Plains region from northeastern Utah and western Kansas south to Oklahoma, central Texas, and New Mexico; Cherrie’s nighthawk (C. m. aserriensis) is found in south-central Texas and the Mexican state of Tamaulipas; Sennett’s nighthawk (C. m. sennetti) occupies a breeding range in the northern Great Plains from northeastern Montana and North Dakota south to eastern Wyoming, Nebraska, and northwestern Iowa; the western nighthawk (C. m. henryi) breeds in southwestern Colorado, eastern Arizona, New Mexico, Chihuahua, and Sonora; and the Pacific nighthawk (C. m. hesperis) nests in the western part of the continent from southeastern British Columbia and California east to southwestern Saskatchewan, northwestern Wyoming, and central Utah. In no case is it possible to indicate subspecific winter ranges, but it appears that all forms winter together in South America.

Spring migration.—Early dates of spring arrival in North America are: Florida—Orlando, March 20; Palma Sola, March 29; Pensacola, April 8. Georgia—Savannah, April 1; Kirkwood, April 19. South Carolina—Frogmore, April 12; Columbia, April 17. North Carolina—Hendersonville, April 13; Raleigh, April 15. Virginia—Variety Mills, April 10; New Market, April 24. District of Columbia—Washington, April 18. Maryland—Mardela Springs, April 19. Pennsylvania—Philadelphia, April 23; Beaver, April 27. New Jersey—Morristown, May 7. New York—New York City, April 20; Ballston Spa, April 29; Rochester, May 7. Connecticut—Hartford, April 24; Jewett City, May 6. Massachusetts—Harvard, April 19; Amherst, May 10. Vermont—St. Johnsbury, May 6; Rutland, May 12. New Hampshire—South Manchester, May 2; Concord, May 14. Maine—Dover-Foxcroft, April 29; South Portland, May 1. New Brunswick—St. Johns, May 13. Quebec—Quebec City, May 4; Montreal, May 9. Louisiana—New Orleans, April 8. Mississippi—Biloxi, April 8; Rodney, April 19. Arkansas—Monticello, April 11. Tennessee—Athens, April 20. Kentucky—Lexington, April 19; Eubank, April 23. Missouri—St. Louis, April 22; Kansas City, May 2. Illinois—Chicago, April 21; Odin, April 27. Indiana—La Fayette, May 1; Fort Wayne, May 6. Ohio—Cleveland, April 20; Oberlin, April 21. Michigan—Sault Ste. Marie, April 30; Detroit, May 1. Ontario—Toronto, April 30; Ottawa, May 9. Iowa—Keokuk, April 23; National, May 6. Wisconsin—Madison, May 2; Milwaukee, May 3. Minnesota—Minneapolis, April 26; Lanesboro, May 7. Kansas—Onaga, April 30; Manhattan, May 1. Nebraska—Omaha, May 8; Red Cloud, May 3. South Dakota—Vermillion, May 10; Forestburg, May 16. North Dakota—Grand Forks, May 1; Argusville, May 18. Manitoba—Margaret, May 10; Aweme, May 12. Texas—San Antonio, April 2; Kerrville, April 22. Colorado—Denver, May 4; Yuma, May 9. Wyoming—Cheyenne, May 8; Torrington, May 24. Montana—Great Falls, May 15; Columbia Falls, May 29. Saskatchewan—Indian Head, May 18; Eastend, May 26. Arizona—Oracle, April 20; Santa Rita Mountains, May 1. Utah—Kobe Valley, May 24. Idaho—Ruper, May 18; Meridian, May 20. Alberta—Flagstaff, May 27; Banff, May 28. California—Red Bluff, April 1; San Diego, April 22; Eureka, May 7. Oregon—Coos Bay, May 1; Klamath Lake, May 26. Washington—Tacoma, May 22. British Columbia—Burrard Inlet, May 26; Okanagan Landing, June 1.

Fall migration.—Late dates of fall departure are: British Columbia—Okanagan Landing, September 15. Washington—Tacoma, September 11. Oregon—Weston, September 9. California—San Francisco, September 21. Los Angeles County, October 27. Alberta—Banff, September 17. Idaho—Meridian, September 15; Rupert, September 16. Arizona—Chin Lee, September 25. Saskatchewan—Eastend, September 15. Montana—Columbia Falls, September 28; Great Falls, October 6. Wyoming—Yellowstone Park, September 15. Colorado—Yuma, September 25; Denver, October 14. Texas—Taylor, October 2; Palo Pinto, October 21; Corpus Christi, November 6. Manitoba—Winnipeg, September 19; Aweme, September 24. North Dakota—Charlson, September 22. South Dakota—Forestburg, September 21; Sioux Falls, October 1. Nebraska—Blue Springs, October 5; Red Cloud, October 10. Kansas—Topeka, October 6; Onaga, October 22. Minnesota—Minneapolis, September 15; Lanesboro, September 30. Wisconsin—Madison, October 6. Iowa—National, September 30; Keokuk, October 8. Ontario—Ottawa, September 23; Toronto, October 11. Michigan—Detroit, September 17. Ohio—Wauseon, September 30; Cleveland, October 8. Illinois—Chicago, October 7; Odin, October 14. Missouri—Concordia, October 18. Kentucky—Eubank, October 9. Tennessee—Athens, October 5. Arkansas—Rogers, October 4; Dardanelle, October 25. Louisiana—New Orleans, November 3. Quebec—Montreal, September 17. New Brunswick—St. Johns, September 27. Maine—Portland, September 26; Livermore Falls, October 2; Vermont—Rutland, September 12; St. Johnsbury, September 13. Massachusetts—Amherst, September 27; Harvard, October 3. Connecticut—Hartford, September 26. New York—Rochester, September 28; New York City, October 1. New Jersey—Morristown, October 11. Pennsylvania—Renovo, September 23; Philadelphia, October 15. District of Columbia—Washington, October 11. North Carolina—Raleigh, October 6; Hendersonville, October 13. South Carolina—Columbia, October 22; Mount Pleasant, November 9. Alabama—Autaugaville, October 11. Florida—Orlando, October 13; Pensacola, October 20.

Casual records.—With a range that covers most of the Western Hemisphere, it is not surprising that comparatively few nighthawks should be recorded beyond the known normal limits. A specimen was taken by an Eskimo at Allakaket, on the Koyukuk River in northern Alaska, late in September or early in October 1923. One was seen at Grand Falls, Labrador, on May 31, 1895, and a specimen was collected at Makkovik in June 1929. The species is a fairly regular visitor at Bermuda during migration, sometimes being very common.

Egg dates.—California: 36 records, March 20 to July 26; 18 records, June 18 to July 1, indicating the height of the season.

Colorado: 11 records, May 31 to July 18.

Florida: 40 records, April 7 to July 17; 20 records, May 15 to June 3.

Georgia: 16 records, May 17 to July 13; 8 records, May 24 to June 10.

Kansas: 28 records, May 31 to July 7; 14 records, June 13 to 28.

Maine: 30 records, May 24 to July 3.

Michigan: 13 records, May 15 to July 19; 7 records, June 2 to July 3.

New York: 9 records, May 29 to July 8.

South Dakota: 9 records, June 10 to July 1.

Texas (Brownsville region): 28 records, April 5 to June 28; 14 records, May 10 to June 5.

Texas (elsewhere): 62 records, April 11 to July 29; 31 records, May 15 to June 1.

CHORDEILES MINOR HENRYI Cassin

WESTERN NIGHTHAWK

HABITS

Dr. Gross has contributed such a full life history of the eastern nighthawk that it hardly seems necessary to say much about the other subspecies, as they are all much alike in general habits.

The above name formerly covered most of the western races that are now recognized as subspecifically distinct. This race is now supposed to be confined to the southern Rocky Mountains and adjacent high plains, from Colorado southward into Mexico, Chihuahua, and Sonora. Other races are recognized in the more lowland plains.

Cassin (1862), in his original description of this bird, named it as a species in honor of Dr. T. Charlton Henry and said of it: “This bird may be distinguished from other American species by its color, which is lighter and of a different style of variegation, the prevailing tone being a dull, pale reddish and yellowish, somewhat approaching what is called buff or drab color. It is larger than Chordeiles virginianus.”

Dr. Harry C. Oberholser (1914), in comparing it with some more recently described races, says that it is “similar to Chordeiles virginianus howelli, but upper surface, both ground color and markings, much darker, the latter more tawny and also coarser; lower parts posteriorly more buffy, anteriorly more rufescent.” It is lighter and more brownish than hesperis, darker and more rufescent than sennetti, and lighter and more brownish than virginianus.

Nesting.—The nesting habits of the western nighthawk are very similar to those of the eastern bird. Dr. Edgar A. Mearns (1890) says of his experience with it in the mountains of Arizona: “I have never known this species to infringe on the territory of the Texan Nighthawk during the breeding season; each keeps to its own ground, the latter being confined to the region below the pines, and the former residing in the pines and spruces, breeding in great numbers in these limited areas. * * * Two fresh eggs were taken at Flagstaff on June 18, 1887, in a level place, bestrewn with volcanic scoria, beneath the pines.”

We found only the western nighthawk in the mountains and only the Texas nighthawk in the lower valleys. After I left, Mr. Willard found a nest on July 9, 1922, at an elevation of 5,200 feet in the Huachuca Mountains, Arizona. The eggs were lying in the open on gravelly soil; just before the eggs were taken, a heavy hailstorm occurred, during which nearly 6 inches of hail fell; evidently the female had covered the eggs during the storm, or the eggs might have been broken.

Eggs.—The two eggs of the western nighthawk are indistinguishable from those of other nighthawks, showing the same variations. In shape they are between oval and elliptical-oval, usually with little or no gloss, though some incubated eggs are quite glossy. The ground color is dull white, or grayish white, rarely “dark” or “deep olive-buff”. Usually they are quite evenly marked; some are closely sprinkled with fine dots, but oftener they are covered with small spots, streaks, or small blotches of “olive-brown,” “sepia,” or “mummy brown”; occasional eggs are marked with brighter browns, such as “russet” or “hazel”; very often there are underlying spots or blotches of “pale Quaker drab.” The measurements of 19 eggs average 30.2 by 21.6 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 33.0 by 21.1, 30.0 by 23.1, 27.3 by 21.5, and 27.5 by 19.7 millimeters.

Food.—Mrs. Bailey (1928) says of the food of the western nighthawk in New Mexico: “Ants in large proportion and also beetles which are the adult forms of noted pests. Specimens taken at Fort Stanton—caddice flies and gnats, together with injurious insects, including ants, plant bugs, leaf hoppers, crane flies, click beetles, wood-boring and engraver beetles, clover root weevils, and nut weevils.”

Beal, McAtee, and Kalmbach (1916) say that these birds are “so expert in flight that no insects can escape them. They sweep up in their capacious mouths everything from the largest moths and dragon flies to the tiniest ants and gnats, and in this way sometimes gather most remarkable collections of insects. Several stomachs have contained fifty or more different kinds, and the number of individuals may run into the thousands.”

Dr. Mearns (1890) writes:

In our summer camp, near the summit of the Mogollon Mountains, a small beetle was annoyingly abundant, flying into our tents in great numbers during the day, and at night swarming around our log fires. As the twilight gathered, hundreds of these Nighthawks appeared upon the scene, preying upon the troublesome insects. Careless of our presence at the fires and of the noisy hilarity of camp, they flitted through the smoke with astonishing freedom from diffidence, capturing myriads of the hated beetles, as they passed and repassed above, between, and around us, until their flickering forms were as familiar as the stirring of the pine boughs overhead, and the fanning of their wings almost as little heeded.

Field marks.—There are two other races of this species, hesperis and howelli, that are likely to be seen within the range of the western nighthawk on migrations; these three races are not easy to recognize in life, though henryi is lighter than hesperis and darker than howelli.

The western nighthawk can be distinguished in flight from the Texas nighthawk by the position of the white wing band; in the western nighthawk this band is about halfway between the bend of the wing and the tip; in the Texas nighthawk the white wing band is nearer the tip than the bend of the wing.

Fall.—Mrs. Bailey (1928) says that after the breeding season and in the fall the western nighthawks range up to higher altitudes in the mountains, even as high as 12,600 feet. “They all desert the State for the winter, beginning their southward journey soon after the middle of summer. They are most numerous in migration during August and have nearly all left [New Mexico] by the end of September. * * * On the return journey in the spring they are among the very latest migrants, seldom reaching northern New Mexico before May 10.”

CHORDEILES MINOR CHAPMANI Coues

FLORIDA NIGHTHAWK

HABITS

This small race occupies the southern Atlantic and Gulf States, from North Carolina to eastern Texas. In general appearance it differs but little from the eastern nighthawk, except in size. Dr. H. C. Oberholser (1914) characterizes it as “like Chordeiles virginianus virginianus, but decidedly smaller; upper parts averaging a little more mottled and spotted with whitish and buffy, particularly on back, wings, and scapulars, and the ground color averaging slightly less deeply blackish (more grayish or brownish); posterior lower parts usually more purely white.”

Nighthawks are tender birds and spend their winters in South America, from Colombia to northern Argentina. Even in Florida they usually do not arrive until some time in April. Arthur H. Howell (1932) says of the haunts of the Florida race: “The Florida Nighthawk frequents open pine forests, old fields, pastures, prairies, cultivated lands, marshes, and ocean beaches. Although most active early in the morning and late in the evening, the birds frequently may be seen flying about in search of food in bright sunshine.”

Nesting.—Mr. Howell (1932) says on this subject: “The two eggs are deposited on the ground, with no semblance of a nest, in an open situation, often in a pasture, broomsedge field, or wood lot, or in palmetto scrub in open forest or on the prairie, or sometimes among sparse grasses on or near the ocean beaches.”

Major Bendire (1895) says that Dr. William L. Ralph took several sets of eggs in Putnam County, Fla., and that here “during the breeding season at least, the Florida Nighthawk frequents mainly low, flat pine woods, especially such as have recently been burnt over, the eggs generally lying on the bare ground. Sandy soil seems to be preferred for nesting places. One set of eggs was found by him under a small orange tree in an orange grove on the side of a sandy hill; three others were taken in flat pine woods, and in one instance the eggs laid on a few fragments of charcoal left where a fallen tree had been partly burnt, between the remaining part of the tree and the stump, about 3 feet from each.”

On Cat Island, off the coast of Mississippi, I found the Florida nighthawk very common in the extensive forest of tall, long-leaf pines, with which the island is largely covered. Here, on June 16, 1910, I saw two pairs with young, the old birds fluttering along the ground to toll us away from their little ones; and I found one nest with two eggs on the bare, sandy ground among the pines.

The only other nests of this subspecies that I have seen were on some low, sandy islands in Galveston Bay, Tex., where several pairs were breeding on May 4, 1923; two nests were seen, the eggs lying in slight hollows in the bare sand, in such situations as might be chosen by least terns. In some of the southern cities this nighthawk has developed the habit of nesting on the flat, gravel roofs of buildings, after the manner of the species elsewhere.

Eggs.—The eggs of the Florida nighthawk are similar to those of the eastern nighthawk but will average somewhat more heavily marked with darker colors and are somewhat smaller. The measurements of 38 eggs average 28.86 by 21.23 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 31.75 by 21.59, 31.59 by 22.61, 26.42 by 20.32, and 28.20 by 20.10 millimeters.

The habits of the Florida nighthawk are not essentially different from those of its northern relative; the two are not easily recognizable in life; and the two forms are seen on migrations all through the Southern States, where heavy flights often occur. R. J. Longstreet noted an unusually heavy flight at Daytona Beach on May 11, 1926; “in about an hour, from 6 to 7 p. m., he estimated that about 3,000 birds passed north over the beach” (Howell, 1932).

Heavy flights also occur on the fall migration, mainly during August, when formerly large numbers of “bullbats,” as they were locally called, were shot for food or sport. Dr. Chapman (1888), writing of Gainesville, Fla., in 1888, said: “‘Bullbat,’ or as it is more frequently termed, ‘Bat,’ shooting is here a popular pastime, great numbers being killed for food, and in August, when the birds have gathered in flocks, favorite fields may be occupied at nightfall by as many as a dozen shooters.” This bad practice is now outlawed, and very wisely, as the small bodies of the nighthawks have very little food value, and the nighthawk is one of our most useful birds; it has no objectionable food habits and is so valuable as a destroyer of troublesome and injurious insects, such as grasshoppers, beetles, gnats, mosquitoes, and the destructive cotton-boll weevil, that it ought to be rigidly protected.

CHORDEILES MINOR SENNETTI Coues

SENNETT’S NIGHTHAWK

HABITS

The nighthawks of the northern plains were given the above name by Dr. Elliott Coues (1888), who gave as the characters of the subspecies “silvery grayish-white predominating above, the white below greatly in excess of the narrow, irregular or broken, dark bars, and little or no rufous anywhere.” It is a bird of the treeless plains and prairies, ranging from northern North Dakota and northeastern Montana south to eastern Wyoming, northwestern Iowa, and northern Nebraska. It migrates southward through Oklahoma and Texas, and probably to South America.

F. A. Patton (1924) says of its haunts in South Dakota: “The Sennetts Night Hawk, is a bird of a barren, isolated region, moving ahead and away from settlements, to a thinly settled section, preferring a dry, almost a desert region.

“Through the eighties and up until about 1890 this bird could be found much over the entire State of South Dakota. At present its range is confined to that part of the state from the Missouri River to the Black Hills, frequenting the Bad Lands section, well up in the foot hills, preferring barren knolls and stony places. Never have I seen the bird or its eggs in any way concealed by grass or vegetation.”

Nesting.—The same observer writes: “A favorite nesting place is in a cattle or horse trail over a stony knoll destitute of vegetation and what sets I find are found mostly by the bird flying from beneath my saddle horse. * * *

“The eggs are laid on a rock or stones. No depression or formation towards a nest whatever, the eggs are plain gray in color and so blend with the rock that though they may be almost at one’s feet are difficult to see.”

Eggs.—The Sennett’s nighthawk lays two eggs, the usual number for the species, which are practically indistinguishable from those of the eastern nighthawk, though they may average a trifle paler with somewhat smaller markings. The measurements of 9 eggs average 31.1 by 22.3 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 33.8 by 21.6, 31.5 by 23.3, 29.3 by 23.1, and 29.6 by 21.5 millimeters.

Young.—Ernest T. Seton (1890) made an interesting observation on two young nighthawks, which were apparently about three days old and still retained the shell tooth on the tip of the bill; he says:

I gently touched one of them, whereupon it crouched down more closely to the ground; but its companion, rising, hissed with open beak and snapped savagely at my fingers. On being further teased they ran off, exactly in the manner of young ducks, with outstretched wings and with neck and body at an angle of 45 degrees. After running a few feet they stopped, squatted as before, and closed their eyes. This they repeated several times, but at best they only made little progress, and each time on being overtaken the bold one was always ready to fight. * * *

In the light of these observations it seems likely that in some of the cases in which the Night-hawks are supposed to have carried off their young, the latter had really run from danger, or were led away by the parent birds.

Plumages.—Dr. Louis B. Bishop (1896) has called attention to the fact that the females of this race do not show the characters of the race as well as the males. He collected a series of 13 birds in North Dakota, of which he writes: “Three females from the same locality taken in June and July—one of them a breeding bird taken with a typical male and two eggs—are similar but with the upper parts darker and the entire lower parts tinged with buff, which becomes ochraceous-buff on the throat. Two other female Nighthawks from the same region, one taken on June 11, and the other with two eggs on June 24, are quite different, the prevailing tint of the entire plumage, except the greater wing-coverts, wings and tail, being ochraceous-buff. These birds might readily be referred to henryi, but all the males taken or seen during the breeding season were unmistakably sennetti.”

He says further: “The pale colors of the male protect him admirably, harmonizing with the dull gray of the fences and rocks, perched on which he passes the day, while the darker colors of the female render her less conspicuous when seated over her eggs on the black soil.”

Behavior.—F. A. Patton (1924) says that “these birds will perch on a hot rock in the blazing sun the hottest summer day, the rock so hot one cannot hold a hand on it. You would think they would cook, they however seem stupid, they seem to lack the pep of other Night Hawks, to get out and soar at twilight, but are a quiet retiring bird, and I have known them on a hot day to let one approach close enough to strike them with a stick.”

CHORDEILES MINOR HESPERIS Grinnell

PACIFIC NIGHTHAWK

Plates 34, 35

HABITS

What was formerly part of the range of the western nighthawk (henryi) is now assigned to this more recently described race. According to the 1931 Check-list, it “breeds from southeastern British Columbia to southwestern Saskatchewan, central Montana, central Utah, and northwestern Wyoming south along the Pacific coast to northern California and in the Sierra Nevada south to the San Bernardino Mountains, southern California.”

Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1905a) named this race and described it as “most nearly resembling Ch. v. virginianus, but:—outer surface of closed wing grayer toned; lower tail-coverts and feathers of belly region more narrowly and sparsely dark-barred; and, in the male, white patches on throat, wings, and tail more extensive.” He remarks further:

In tone of coloration the male is much darker than in either Ch. v. sennetti or Ch. v. henryi. Altho somewhat lighter than virginianus, this is in the direction of pale gray and white rather than ochraceous. The extended mottling of the otherwise blackish feathers dorsally is responsible for this lighter tone, and especially notable is the extensive silvery gray mottling on the wing coverts. Yet this dorsal tone does not nearly reach the paleness of sennetti. * * * The [white] patch on the outer primary invades across the shaft to include the outer web; and the same is observable of the patches on the tail-feathers. * * * The female of hesperis is gray rather than tawny, and is thus at once distinguishable from the female of henryi.

Nesting.—Major Bendire (1895) writes:

A set of eggs of this subspecies was found by me on July 3, 1875, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, some 6 miles northeast of Camp Harney, Oregon, laid among some pebbles on the bare ground under a little sage bush. The sitting bird allowed me almost to touch it, and was very reluctant to abandon its eggs, which were but slightly incubated. On my approach, it ruffled its feathers and emitted a hissing sound, resembling somewhat the spitting of a cat when mad. Their favorite nesting places in that vicinity were the crests of gravelly ridges, always selecting a well-drained spot, where the rains could not chill the young or eggs. Bare, rocky table-lands are also frequently resorted to for similar purposes, and less often the flat tops of bowlders. Extensive burnt tracts also furnish favorite abiding places for them in the more northern portions of their range; in fact, in such localities they are fully as abundant as on the more open sagebrush plains.

Henry J. Rust (1911) tells of a nest that he found near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in an open space in a cornfield, where the scattered cornstalks and a few weeds furnished scanty shade for the young. D. E. Brown tells me that “on the prairies of Pierce County [Washington] the bird nests on small patches of gravel, where the two eggs blend perfectly and the bird itself is hard to see. In King County, I find most of the nests in burnt-over sections. The eggs are usually placed among the remains of a rotten and charred log, where both egg and bird blend with the surroundings.”

A. Dawes DuBois has sent me some notes on three nests found by him in Flathead County, Mont.; in one of these the eggs lay on a thick bed of coarse moss which covered the rocky ground for some distance around it; this was on the top of a high foothill. Of this nest he says: “The bird was sitting when I approached, July 16. When she saw me coming she closed her eyes and appeared to be asleep. By covering the large shiny eyeballs with the lusterless lids the nighthawk makes herself much more a part of her surroundings. The eyes are not shut tight; a narrow slit is left through which to peek. While I was in the tent blind, placed near the nest, her eyes were usually wide open; but if I slipped out at the rear and looked around the corner of the tent she slowly closed her eyes until only a narrow slit remained.”

Dr. Grinnell (1908) found the Pacific nighthawk “to be a common species of the Boreal and upper Transition zones” in the San Bernardino Mountains. On June 18 he flushed a female from her two eggs at an altitude of about 9,000 feet. “These were laid on the bare ground in an open place among the pines. Nothing but a few pine needles separated them from the granite gravel.”

Eggs.—The eggs of the Pacific nighthawk are similar to those of the eastern nighthawk, but will average somewhat paler. The measurements of 38 eggs average 30.23 by 21.6 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 32.5 by 21.8, 31.5 by 23.1, and 24.6 by 19.0 millimeters.

Food.—Dr. Grinnell (1908) says: “A specimen shot at dusk, July 4, 1906, was skinned at 11 o’clock the next day. The capacious throat and gullet were found to be crammed with large winged white ants. By actual count there were forty-three of these and many of them were still alive, although it was at least fifteen hours since they had been captured by the nighthawk.”

Like other nighthawks this subspecies feeds mainly during the dusk of early morning and evening, but all observers seem to agree that it hunts largely during the day, even in bright sunlight. Its food consists of a great variety of insects, such as beetles, moths, ants, grasshoppers, and other flying insects.

Voice.—This nighthawk indulges in all the characteristic notes of the species, but Mr. DuBois mentions a note that he heard on August 20, which is somewhat different; he writes: “For two weeks or more some of the nighthawks flying over the hill by the ranger station have been uttering a click-click-click-click—rapidly repeated and continued at considerable length. It is somewhat like a series of high-pitched quacks. Other nighthawks, flying with these birds, are calling the characteristic peënk at the usual intervals. I suppose the rapidly uttered quacks to be the notes of the young.”

CHORDEILES MINOR HOWELLI Oberholser

HOWELL’S NIGHTHAWK

Plate 36

HABITS

The 1931 Check-list gives the range of this subspecies as “southern Great Plains and central Rocky Mountain regions; from Wyoming to middle Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, middle and western Kansas, northeastern Utah, northeastern New Mexico, and southwestern Nebraska, casually to North Dakota.”

In naming this bird in honor of his friend Arthur H. Howell, Dr. Harry C. Oberholser (1914) characterized it as “somewhat like Chordeiles virginianus sennetti, but male with upper parts more rufescent and somewhat paler, the dark brown color more rufescent, less grayish, and the light markings much more buffy or ochraceous; posterior lower parts more buffy, and the anterior dark brown areas more rufescent.”

Robert B. Rockwell writes to me that this nighthawk is common in the region about Colorado Springs and that he has seen it in various other parts of Colorado, on the plains, in the valleys, and in the mountains up to 10,000 feet altitude.

George Finlay Simmons (1925) says that it reaches about its southern limit in the vicinity of Austin, Tex., and that its habitat includes “the plains; barren fields; cowtrails in pastures; roadsides and along railroad tracks; barren gravelly ridges, and gravelly surfaces in the open, barren hills; backland plowed fields; rocky hillsides; edges of woodlands; flat, gravelly roofs of office buildings in town.”

I cannot find anything to indicate that the habits of Howell’s nighthawk differ essentially from those of the other neighboring subspecies. Mr. Simmons (1925) says of the fall migration in Texas: “Gathers in flocks in late summer, mid-July to third week in August; migration begins early in August, and by the end of that month the local breeding birds have departed; hundreds pass through, August 10 to August 30, but the last have not gone until late in October. During one fall migration flocks containing as many as 200 to 300 birds were observed on the open prairies northeast of Austin. During both migration seasons the various subspecies of nighthawks mix up on their way to and from South America, so that identification of migrants is hopeless without a specimen in hand.”

The eggs are similar to those of other nighthawks. The measurements of 26 eggs average 30.2 by 21.7 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 33.0 by 21.9, 31.7 by 23.4, and 26.3 by 20.2 millimeters.

CHORDEILES MINOR ASERRIENSIS Cherrie

CHERRIE’S NIGHTHAWK

HABITS

George K. Cherrie (1896) described this race from a bird collected on November 2, 1893, in the valley of the River Aserri, Costa Rica. It is a small, pale race, about the size of chapmani. Nothing was known about its distribution at that time, but it has since been found to be the breeding form of southern Texas, from San Antonio southward and into Tamaulipas.

Dr. H. C. Oberholser (1914) describes it as “resembling Chordeiles virginianus sennetti, but decidedly smaller; general tone of upper parts lighter and more ochraceous, the light areas more buffy or ochraceous (less grayish or whitish) and somewhat more extensive; and the dark brown areas of anterior lower surface less grayish.” He remarks further: “This heretofore unrecognized race seems to be in color most nearly like Chordeiles virginianus sennetti, though in this respect also near Chordeiles virginianus howelli and probably in reality most closely resembling this form, which it adjoins geographically.”

Mr. Cherrie’s type specimen seems to have been lost; at least, neither he nor Dr. Oberholser have been able to locate it, but the full description of the type convinced Dr. Oberholser that “there is no doubt that Mr. Cherrie had in hand a male nighthawk of the virginianus style in fully grown juvenal or first autumn plumage, not adult, as he supposed. Allowing for this immaturity, the characters that Mr. Cherrie gives are just those distinguishing the small, pale race which summers in southern Texas.”

The nesting habits, eggs, food, and behavior of this nighthawk probably do not differ materially from those of other races living in similar environment. The measurements of 43 eggs average 29.3 by 21.4 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 32.5 by 22.5, 27.1 by 21.3, and 28.4 by 20.6 millimeters.