the under parts nearly white, there being only a few narrow streaks on the
sides of the breast; the tibial and tarsal feathers as in the male. The
tail is of a duller red, and wants the black bar.
Length 24 inches.
T H E A M E R I C A N H A R E.
L E P U S A M E R I C A N I J S , Harlan, Fauna Americana, p. 193.
The Rabbit, as this animal is named in the United States, has the
habits of the European Hare, forming a flat, well-beaten, oblong space
among the grass, on which it rests during the day. It never burrows like
the Common Rabbit of Europe, although it resorts for safety to the hollows
of fallen trunks, or those frequently existing at the roots of standing
trees, as well as to cavities in rocks. It feeds principally towards the approach
of night and early in the morning, and spends the greater part of
the day in its form. When startled by a dog, it proceeds in a direct manner
for a considerable way, and then returns nearly by the same course.
When disturbed, if there be not a dog present, it runs to a short distance,
stops, raises its head, erects its ears, and is then easily discovered and
shot. When the period of parturition approaches, it forms a kind of nest
of long grass, arranged in an oblong form. Its flesh is whiter than that
of the European Hare, but resembles it in flavour. It gnaws the bark of
young trees in the orchards as well as in the forests, and is in" many parts
very abundant.
C H U C K - W I L L S - W I D OW
CAPRIMULGUS CAROLINENSIS, Blliss.
P L A T E LI I. M A L E A N D F E M A L E .
O U R Goatsuckers, although possessed of great power of wing, are particularly
attached to certain districts and localities. The species now under
consideration is seldom observed beyond the limits of the Choctaw
Nation in the State of Mississippi, or the Carolinas, on the shores of the
Atlantic, and may with propriety be looked upon as the southern species
of the United States. Louisiana, Florida, the lower portions of Alabama
and Georgia, are the parts in which it most abounds; and there it makes
its appearance early in spring, coming over from Mexico, and probably
still warmer climates.
About the middle of March, the forests of Louisiana are heard to
echo with the well-known notes of this interesting bird. No sooner has
the sun disappeared, and the nocturnal insects emerge from their burrows,
than the sounds, " chuck- wiWs-widozo^ repeated with great clearness
and power six or seven times in as many seconds, strike the ear of
every individual, bringing to the mind a pleasure mingled with a certain
degree of melancholy, which I have often found very soothing. The
sounds of the Goatsucker, at all events, forebode a peaceful and calm
night, and I have more than once thought, are conducive to lull the listener
to repose.
The deep ravines, shady swamps, and extensive pine ridges, are all
equally resorted to by these birds; for in all such places they find ample
means of providing for their safety during the day, and of procuring food
under night. Their notes are seldom heard in cloudy weather, and
never when it rains. Their roosting places are principally the hollows of
decayed trees, whether standing or prostrate, from which latter they are
seldom raised during the day, excepting while incubation is in progress.
In these hollows I have found them, lodged in the company of several
species of bats, the birds asleep on the mouldering particles of the wood,
the bats clinging to the sides of the cavities. When surprised in such situations,
instead of trying to effect their escape by flying out, they retire
backwards to the farthest corners, ruffle all the feathers of their body,
s