The Alleged Transportation of Its Eggs or Young by the Chuck-Will's-Widow

This paper presents a great deal of original information on a species that has received but little study and endeavors to correct certain errors in the literature. A critical reading of Audubon's "Biographies" will reveal numerous errors, particularly in the first volume, and it is evident that some of his stories were based on mere hearsay. It must be realized that present-day ornithological ethics had not evolved by 1831, and that "tall tales" from America were expected, if not demanded. I have searched through the literature quite fully and cannot find any contributor who has stated that he himself has witnessed the procedure described in Audubon's book. Herrick (1917) has not seen fit to discuss the story. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, in their History of North American Birds, reproduce the Audubon story and cast no doubt on its validity. A surprising number of later authors have printed the account in their works, some crediting it to Audubon and, regretably, more have not. I think that quite enough testimony has been presented in the foregoing statements by competent ornithologists to refute the story and that future authors should avoid its repetition.