374 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



the state by the middle of May. It moves southward by the first of October 

 and the larger number probably pass entirely out of the United States to 

 winter, a few only lingering in the Gulf States. It is one of the birds much 

 oftener heard than seen, and its characteristic call resembles quite clearly 

 the words, whip-poor-will, the middle syllable being slighted and the first 

 and last syllables rather strongly accented. It has also numerous clucking 

 and purring sounds, which however, are inaudible at a distance. According 

 to Major Bendire it is much attached to its nesting sites and returns to the 

 same spots year after year. He says "Its flight is strong, swift, graceful 

 and entirely noiseless, gliding like a shadow across the ground in pursuit 

 of insects," which are mainly moths and beetles. 



It nests rather early, the eggs in southern Michigan being laid from May 

 10th to 20th and somewhat later farther north. No nest whatever is 

 constructed, but the eggs are laid upon the dead leaves on the ground, 

 usually without the slightest hollow being prepared; in fact frequently 

 they are so placed that they will roll easily in any direction. The eggs are 

 two, creamy or pure white, spotted or blotched with lilac and brown. 

 They are regularly elliptical in outline, being of the same size at both ends, 

 and averaging 1.12 by .84 inches. Many observers claim that if frequently 

 disturbed the old bird will remove the eggs to another place, carrying 

 them in the mouth. It seems to be true that the eggs frequently disappear 

 soon after their discovery, but so far as we can learn no one has actually 

 seen the bird remove them. Jerome Trombley of Petersburg states that 

 "If you find a single egg of the Whippoorwill and do not take it it will be 

 gone next day; the old bird carries it off in her mouth invariabl3^ I have 

 noticed the disappearance many times." On the other hand many 

 observers have watched the eggs of the Whippoorwill, repeatedly disturbing 

 the birds, and have failed to cause the removal of the eggs. Bendire states 

 that after the young are hatched the mother is more likely to remove these 

 than the eggs, but it seems unlikely that these are carried in the mouth, 

 and Mr. H. W. Flint, of New Hampshire, Conn., once saw a female carry 

 a young bird about a rod. He says he does not think she used her bill, 

 liut is almost sure the claws and legs were used "as the young was hugged 

 close to the body." Like most other birds which nest on the ground the 

 mother makes every effort to prevent the discovery of the nest, and when 

 flushed often feigns lameness or other injury and attempts to decoy the 

 intruder away. 



On its arrival from the south the Whippoorwill begins to "sing" almost 

 at once and continues until the young are well grown, but according to 

 Bicknell the note is seldom heard after the middle of the year (last of June), 

 although it is well known to sing in the autumn. 



Its food, so far as known, consists entirely of insects, the larger part 

 of which are taken on the wing, but the bird frequently alights on the ground 

 to pick up food, although its feet are so weak that it does not run about 

 much. Undoubtedly it does some good by its consumption of injurious 

 insects, but in most places it is not abundant enough to be much of a factor 

 in this work. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Bill very small, but with long stiff bristles extending far beyond its tip; eyes very large; 

 feet small and weak, the claw of the middle toe pectinate (with a comb) on its inner edge; 

 tail rounded at end. 



Adult male: Upper parts mottled with black, brown and silver gray, the top of head 

 broadly streaked with black in the middle, more narrowly on the sides, where the gray is 



