EASTERN WHIPPOORWILL 167 



•Charlie Chaplin-like' shuffle. The different methods of approach to 

 the nest are, I think, indicative of the different habitats of two very 

 similar birds. The woodland whippoorwill hops or flies to avoid 

 obstructions, whereas the nighthawk can gain its objective without 

 leaving the ground. 



"The female whippoorwill was still incubating on June 10, but on 

 the 11th there were two young in the nest. The incubation period 

 for the last egg laid was, therefore, at least 19 days, and possibly 

 nearer 20. 



"The first definite movement away from the nest was noted on 

 June 18, when the female was brooding the young 50 feet away. On 

 the 19th and 20th she was respectively 70 and 85 feet from the nest. 

 The female often alighted crosswise on a limb when excited, or for 

 the purpose of facing me, but quickly assumed the lengthwise position. 



"June 21-22 — Female brooding young 100 feet from nest. 



"June 25 — One young bird flew 15 feet. 



"June 26 — Older chick flew 25 feet when female was flushed. 

 Younger bird still jumped, then squatted, but when I placed it on a 

 branch, it flew 15 feet. Both young always alighted on the ground, 

 but perched readily. This was the last I saw of the family." 



Mr. Terrill's report of this family of whippoorwills makes it clear 

 that the male parent very rarely came near the nest at the times he 

 was watching it. This accords with the experience of many observers 

 at other nests. For example, H. E. Tuttle (1911) says: "The male 

 Whip-poor-will I saw only once, and that was after the young were 

 fully grown. He was very conspicuous in the dusk as he sat on a log, 

 uttering rasping sounds in his throat and opening and shutting his 

 tail, brilliantly marked with white at the edges. It was only a day 

 or so after seeing the male bird that I lost sight of the young birds 

 altogether." 



But why should we expect the male whippoorwill to come to the 

 nest in the middle of the night — the whippoorwill's day? There 

 is nothing to do there at night except to keep the eggs warm, or, 

 after they hatch, to brood the young, and his mate can do that 

 while she sleeps on the nest. So he sleeps a little way off. But 

 when the dark comes — when his morning breaks — when the night 

 insects begin to fly, and food abounds, and his hungry children cry, 

 where is the male parent then? We do not know, but we may 

 assume, as Mr. Terrill suggests, that he joins his family and aids 

 in feeding the young. 



When a female bird is approached while she is incubating (Ben- 

 dire says : "I believe the female attends to this duty almost exclusive- 

 ly") the behavior varies a good deal in different individuals. In 

 many accounts of her actions, she is reported to flop about on the 



