Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1910-07-27


which neither attracts attention by the
beauty Of its pIumage nor the sweetness OF
its song. II IL most often seen soaring
high in air in the afternoon or early even
ing, and at such times utters its only note,
sound much resembling the "scaip" OF
the woodcock. When at rest 1t is usually
seen on bare limb OF q tree or the rail OF
fence, where ii sits with its body length
wise OF the perch instead OF crosswise, as
is generally the case with other birds.
/, does not attach itself to the abodcs OF
man and render itself agreeable by its
sprightly manners and pleasing compan-
ionship, but holds itself aloof from the
works OF civilization, and at nesting time
brings forth its young upon rocks and
bare knobs remote from human dwellings.
To this there is one remarkable exception.
in large cities, where most of the build
ings are high, with ia, roofs, often
covered with gravel, the house-tops are rs
free from human intrusion as the top OF
q mountain, and the nighthawks take
advantage OF this artificial desert to Lay
their eggs and rear their young safe from
man who crawis about in the crevices OF
streets far below.
The body OF the nighthawk is much
smaller than one would suppose from see
ing the bird upon the wing. The long
wings and the loose, fiuffy feathers, tend
to give an exaggerated appearance OF size
that is no; real. The body Is actually so
small, and with so little flesh on the loose
thaA :, In ksn ~ In hirA
would suppose that anyone would kill for
food. The pectoral muscles which move
the long wings constitute the principal
and only part where there is much flesh.
The legs are small and weak and do not
appear to have much use, so that the
muscles which move them are reduced to
q minimum.
In one point, however, the nighthawk's
anatomy is fully developed-its stomach is
huge for so small bird. In capacity it
fully equals, IL IL does not exceed, that OF
the common pigeon, whose body Is at
least twice as large. II is right here that
the nighthswk's usefulness appears.
This enormous stomach must be kept
filled to supply motive power for the long
Niuks " uiNb hIc ktRt ~ AuhhN
hours. To facilitate this work, nature has
given the bird an immense mouth, which
is really more like the mouth OF a turtle
or frog than OF bird.
The food consists OF insects taken on the
wing, and so greedy is the bird that when
food is plenty IL fills its great stomach
almost to bursting. To ascertain the
- L..
hundred stomachs were examined, with
interesting results. One OF the most
conspicuous elements was flying ants.
Remains were found in thirty-six
stomachs, in twenty-four of which the
number ranged from 200 to 800.
While ants have at times useful func-
ton, they are for the most part annoying
and harmful insects, and il is evident that
they would be much more numerous than
they are were not their ranks so severely
thinned by the attacks OF the nighthswks.
Moreover, these ants are killed at the
most important epoch OF their lives--when
they are preparing to propagate their
kind, when the death OF every female
means the loss OF hundreds, or perhaps
thOAHahd1s VI kdS acAh StucihttDu. IN
this work nighthawks rank next to, or
even with, the woodpeckers, the acknow-
lodged ant-eaters among birds.
Grasshoppers are another importan.
article Of the nighthawk's diet. One
stomach contained the remains OF sixty
individuals, probably the refuse OF several
meals, as the jaws of the insects were the
fx.xif srNu ztx -.
tanned thirty-eight, another twenty-five
and still another nineteen. These last
were mostly entire, and serve to show how
much the stomach Of a nighthawk can
hold. Many other stomachs contained
smaller numbers OF insects. May beetles
were found in a number OF stomachs. One
held the remains of thirty-four, another
Several other stomachs contained less
number Besides these, many other in
furious or annoying insects were found,
but mostly in smaller quantities. One
bird had eaten three Colorado potato
beetles; several had taken both the striped
and spotted squash beetles. Many other
less known but injurious beetles were
found, one stomach containing no less
than seventeen different species.
Bugs OF the chinch bug family were
found in very considerable numbers,
though that pest itself was not observed.
Leafhoppers were also eaten in consider
able numbers. Many stomachs were
nearly filled with some soft bodied dipter-
Gus insects, allied to mosquitoes, but not
further identified.
From these glimpses OF the nighthawk's
food habits, it must be evident that il is
one OF our most useful birds. Not only
does it do great amount Of positive good
by the destruction Of enormous numbers
OF insects, but it is to be commended for
its negatives qualities, in that it not only
does not destroy any OF the farmers crops,
but does not even visit them or use them
for nesting sites. 1t never touches grain or
fruit, it never troubles the garden, and in
he, raHo ~I