The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-08-24
'. WAYS OF THh NIGHTHAWK.
The Habits of This Bird Are Strangely Belied by Its Name.

 Belied by Its Name.
 The night hawk is bird often seen
 and yet a bird of which little is com monly known. Its name would lead one to think that it Is night bird but this Is wrong, as it does not roam about during the night at all. Lehtekf ami g during the night at all. Like the ia miliar song birds of the woods it rests at night. It received its name on ac- count of its habit of appearing only
 during the later afternoon or on cloudy days A proper name for this bird
 would be "a twilight bird,' as it cannot be said to belong either to night or
 day.
 If you have ever lived on farm you will recall hearing on some still, not evening, whirring, long, drawn out not, high above your head, and on looK- ing up you will remember how surpris- ed you were to behold a small bird with big wings falling straight toward the earth and then how much more sur
 prised you were when the bird sud- denly turned in a graceful upward curve and went straight back again into the darkness above. That was the
  After that first meeting you will re-
 member how familiar it grew to you and vet how little you ever learned of its habits of living.
 These birds winter just south of the United States. They arrive in Indiana
 with the heading of the oat and wheat
 fields and stay until September. Some times they summer as far north as the Hudson Bay and winter as far south
 as Brazil They travel from one place to another as a rule in scattering f1ocks. To see these birds travelling is sight not soon forgotten. They will follow river or stream for miles and
 seem to use these natural highways as their guide from one home to another A hunt for the nest of this bird is
 hopeless task In some localities of our state, as they do not always breed.
 They live in the field and it is there you may expect to find the nest If one is to be found It will be built on the ground, and there will not be straw or stick or cord in the home. It vii | be lust hole in the ground, for this 1 bird is, above all things, lazy, and If there is any material other than the | bare earth near the home 1t will be be- cause the wind blew it there or because it grew there. You will find two eggs of dirty color in the nest, providing some snake or gopher has not made
 away with them Exposed as these eggs
 are it is a wonder the bird does not disappear from the face of the earth.
 Nearly evry animal that lives eats
 eggs.
 The night hawk lives almost entirely on bugs bees and insects. They are so swift in their action that they have lit tie difficulty In securing a square meal every hour they hunt. They are so
 marked that they can easily secure their prey. They are dark-just twi- | light color-underneath and the real | distance they are from you Is a matter of doubt They have a wish-bone shaped white mark on the throat by which | they can always be known.
 | The noise made by this bird when de- scending is caused by its wings in con- tact with the air. It's throat cry is a squeak and unpleasant to the ear. The bird Is very attractive when 1t flies | about in the air, as it's curvings are as | smooth and graceful as if they had been planned and rehearsed for weeks. Such perfect control does 1t have over | it's power of flight that it can drop | toward the ground with lightning ra-
 pidty; and when scarcely two feet above the surface reverse its action and sail again in graceful circles toward the
 sky.-F'rom the Indianapolis News.