NATURE NOTES FROM ACADIA

A DAREDEVIL IN FEATHERS

Out of the twilight comes a bird about the size of our robin, but with longer, more pointed wings which propel him through the deepening heavens in graceful easy flight. Like some large bat he swoops after winged insect prey, but you can readily distinguish him from any of our bats by his single, high, oft-repeated nasal "peent," by the conspicuous white bar on each wing, and by his large size. This bird is the nighthawk, a first cousin to our whip-poor-will.

The nighthawk, called "bull bat," "mosquito hawk," and various other local names, arrives in Acadia about the time rhodora comes into bloom. In June two eggs, dull white marked with gray-brown blotches, are laid in an open field, upon a stretch of sand or gravel, or upon or near the summit of some mountain. In cities the eggs are not infrequently deposited on the flat-topped roof of some tall building. No nest is constructed. Shortly after the young have been reared the nighthawks congregate in large flocks, and before the summer has passed they are well on the way to their wintering grounds. They range widely, breeding as far north as the northernmost provinces of Canada and migrating southward as far as Argentina, a distance of 7,000 miles. Mr. Wells W. Cooke, biologist for the U. S. Department of Agriculture, states that the nighthawk has probably the longest migration route of any land bird. In the west and south close relatives of our eastern species are to be found; all are of similar habits and, in general, of similar appearance.

The large mouth of the nighthawk is responsible for its ridiculous family name of "Goatsucker." The bird, because of its swift flight and large appetite for winged insects, is of appreciable economic importance. Investigation by our Biological Survey has shown that considerable numbers of insect pests are often found in the stomachs of these birds. In one instance 650 plant lice were found in a single stomach, another contained 91 June beetles; another, 37 leaf chafers; another 35 engraver beetles; another, more than 100 carpenter ants, etc. Many kinds of wood-boring and bark beetles fall prey to this feathered daredevil.

But why call him a daredevil? Because there is no other bird who can thrill you so with his swooping, tumbling, and diving as our nighthawk. What an erratic flyer he is! At times his long pointed wings carry him through the air with a graceful ease which is a pleasure to watch, but if you can keep him in sight long enough his pace is bound to change. Suddenly he will plunge down -- down -- down so swiftly that you hold your breath and your heart may miss a beat, when, in his mad swoop, he disappears behind the treetops. Expecting him to be dashed to earth, yet hoping his wings would right him in time, your fears are allayed by his reappearance, and again he soars while you, fascinated with this performance, watch him until he disappears from sight. Life insurance would be high for his kind.

Sometimes he tumbles as though he were naught but a loose lifeless feathered mass, at times he hovers over one spot on quivering wing, - always his aerial maneuvers are worth watching. In Acadia National Park, in the towns on Mount Desert Island, and throughout the state of Maine the nighthawk is a common late spring and early summer resident.

- Arthur Stupka