EASTERN WHIPPOORWILL 181 



feet tall, with large leaves but plenty of open si>ace between the 

 branches. The bird went to the ground after each flight into the 

 tree, and it appeared to Mr. Nelson that the insects, as they flew 

 among the flowers, could best be seen against the sky from this 

 point. The bird did not return to this tree after the flowers had 

 faded. 



During a second visit to Florida, more than a month later, I saw, 

 presumably, the same bird again. It acted exactly as it had before, 

 perching, indeed, on the identical spot on the limb of the live oak 

 that had been a favorite perch in February. On this occasion also 

 only one bird visited the tree, and while feeding was silent except for 

 the low chuck. On March 24, after the bird had been to the tree 

 and had gone away, I heard him singing off in the hammock. This 

 singing on his winter quarters indicated that he felt spring was here, 

 and it was time to leave for his summer home in the north. 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — United States and southern Canada east of the Rocky 

 Mountains, south in winter to El Salvador. 



Breeding range. — The breeding range of the eastern whippoorwill 

 extends north rarely to central Saskatchewan (Prince Albert) ; 

 southern Manitoba (Gypsumville, Lake St. Martin, Shoal Lake, and 

 Winnipeg) ; northern Michigan (McMillan and Sault Ste. Marie) ; 

 southern Ontario (Sudbury, Algonquin Park, and Ottawa) ; south- 

 ern Quebec (Montreal and Sherbrooke) ; rarely northern Maine 

 (Presque Isle) ; and rarely southern New Brunswick (Scotch Lake). 

 The eastern limits extend southward from this point along the At- 

 lantic coast to eastern Virginia (Ashland and Lawrenceville) ; hence 

 southwest through the interior to North Carolina (Ealeigh and High- 

 rock) ; and Georgia (Young Harris and Atlanta). South to north- 

 ern Georgia (Atlanta) ; northern Alabama (Lookout Mountain and 

 Sand Mountain) ; central Arkansas (Clinto and Big Piney Creek) ; 

 and Texas (Troup). West to eastern Texas (Troup) ; northwestern 

 Arkansas (Rogers and Pearidge) ; eastern Kansas (Ottawa and 

 Topeka) ; eastern Nebraska (Peru, Omaha, and Neligh) ; southeast- 

 ern South Dakota (Vermillion) ; Minnesota (St. Cloud, Fosston, 

 and Williams) ; southwestern Manitoba (Treesbank) ; and rarely 

 central Saskatchewan (Prince Albert). 



Closely related subspecies, Stephens's whippoorwill {A. v. an- 

 sonae), is found chiefly in Mexico, but in summer it has been recorded 

 north to Arizona (Bradshaw Mountains, Sierra Ancha, Mount Gra- 

 ham, and the Chiricahua Mountains) ; New Mexico (Turkey Creek, 

 Blank Range, and Fort Bayard) ; and southwestern Texas (Chisos 

 Mountains) . 



