Then, too, the nighthawk, returning from its winter visit south,
booms forth its curious whirring, vibrating, jarring sound as it
drops through the air at unseen heights, a dismal, weird noise
which the red man thought proceeded from the shad spirits come to
warn the schools of fish of their impending fate.


COMMON HAWTHORN: WHITE THORN; SCARLET-FRUITED THORN; RED HAW;
MAYFLOWERS
(Cratoegus coccinea) Apple family

Flowers - White, rarely pinkish, usually less than 1 in. across,
numerous, in terminal corymbs. Calyx 5-lobed; 5 spreading petals
inserted in its throat numerous stamens; styles 3 to 5. Stem: A
shrub or small tree, rarely attaining 30 ft. in height (Kratos =
strength, in reference to hardness and toughness of the wood);
branches spreading, and beset with stout spines (thorns) nearly 2
in. long. Leaves: Alternate, petioled, 2 to 3 in. long, ovate,
very sharply cut or lobed, the teeth glandular-tipped. Fruit:
Coral red, round or oval; not edible.
Preferred Habitat - Thickets, fence-rows, woodland borders.
Flowering Season - May.
Distribution - Newfoundland and Manitoba southward to the Gulf of
Mexico.

"The fair maid who, the first of May,
Goes to the fields at break of day
And washes in dew from the hawthorn tree
Will ever after handsome be."