Evening star., 1945-08-13
This and That
By Charles E. Trdce,Uell.
OTIS PLACE.

OTIS PLACE.
Dear Sir:
Recently I have had an interesting
experience with a baby nighthawk.
The nighthawk "a bird about the size
and color of the whip p-poor- like
the whip-poor-w makes no nest but
drops its pair of eggs on the bare
ground or on the fiat roof of some
building, from which place this young
ster no doubt tumbled to the ground
II found him one evening in the alley
back Of our home. He was about the
size of a grown robin, fully feathered
out, and had O wing spread OF about
Is inches. But with all that breadth Of
wing he was unable to fly for more
than Is or 40 feet ct q time nor higher
than or 4 feet.
knowing that he would eventually
die OF starvation or be run over by some
careless car driver or more surely fall
prey to some stray cat, thought
there was but one thing for me to do.
viz, play the good Samaritan, which
I proceeded to do.
After considerable chasing I got
him cornered against wire mesh fence
and picked him up. He gave no cry but
struggled hard to free himself
After taking him in we offered him
food, but he wouldn't open his mouth.
We failed again all the next day; but
on the second day hunger seemed to
overcome his fear, and when we would
put hand near him his mouth would
fly open.
Now the question was what to feed
him. Knowing the diet Of most young
birds consisted of worms bugs and in
sects (but where were we to find them,
since the sparrows. starlings and robins
keep them pretty well cleaned up?) we
decided on raw beef, hard-boiled egg
yolk and bakers bread dunked in sweet
milk.
"On this diet he has survived for
more than four weeks. He hasn't seemed
to have grown much but is stronger on
the wing. He can soar up to the ceiling
from one room to another but he abso-
lutely refuses to feed himself We can't
turn him loose until he shows his ability
to care for himself.
II you have any advice to offer as to
teaching him to eat, or when to release
him, it will be gladly received.
Respectfully. T.s.G."
The nighthawk is not hawk at all
but really flycatcher and will not learn
to eat by itself until 1t is given natural
surroundings.
We would suggest, therefore, that this
bird be turned loose at the earliest
opportunity preferably in an area
where there are both woods and open
fields.
In such habitat. the young night
hawk will learn to catch insects on the
wing, as nature intended him to do.
He will suddenly find what his wings
are for and how his large mouth serves
him in scooping bugs" from the air.
His erratic flight also helps, by swing
ing him first up and then down. whereas
If he went op straight line he would
not pass so many insects.
Nighthawks are tremendous feeders,
and the young quickly learn how to eat
naturally when put on their own.
AS long as they are fed by hand they
cannot be expected to eat in their nat
ural ancestral manner.
Once in the open, with the cool air
and hunger calling him on, the young
handled bird will quickly make himself
at home.
The nighthawk has many queer
names, many Of them misnomers. He
is not a hawk, having neither the talons
nor strong beak. His feet and bill are
both weak.
The nighthawk is neither a "bullbat"
nor "goatsucker,' as he is often
called.
Many persons still believe that a
nighthawk and a whip-poor- are the
same thing. This is just plain ignorance
The ntghthawk has white wing bars.
whereas the whip-poor- will has none.
The latter is woods bird and does not
indulge IN catching insects just before
dark, as the nighthawk does.
There is just one real resemblance
Both birds possess real combs. These
are on the inner edge of the middle
claw Of each foot. The birds do not
use them for combing their hair, of
course, but for what you might expect
--ridding themselves of lice. Isn't nature
wonderful
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