40 



THE OOLOGIST. 



The Whip-poor-will. 



Antrostomus vociferus. 



By Charles Lincoln Phillips, Taun- 

 ton, Mass.. Author of "Fred- 

 erick Young " 



"Whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, 



whip-poor-will!" What sweet and 

 touching remeniberances are revived 

 within me, when I write the notes that 

 represent the nocturnal utterances of 

 this beautiful New England bird! 



Kind reader, it at once seems to carry 

 me back to the happy days of child- 

 hood; to that time when I lived on the 

 old country homestead, and had every 

 opportunity, far which a boy ornitholo- 

 gically inclined could wish, to become 

 familiar not only with the Whip-poor- 

 will, but with nearly all the birds con- 

 tained in the fauna of eastern Massa- 

 chusetts. 



This rather sad but inspiring song — 

 if such it may be called— seems to pic- 

 ture in my mind a still, clear evening 

 in June, with a full moon sheddiDg its 

 mellow radiance over the landscape; 

 where every object is clearly visible 

 and sharply contrasted by dark shad- 

 ows; where all roughness and conflict- 

 ing shades seem to be blended into 

 charming harmonv as if by a potential, 

 magic hand. This calm repose of beau- 

 tiful nature is food for the sou 1 ; in me 

 it intensifies my admiration for the 

 creative power of the Maker, and it also 

 has a tendency to inspire my inner-be- 

 ing with noble and lofty purpose. And, 

 to®, on such a night as this, as I stand 

 under the azure vault of the heavens a 

 dark body, on noiseless wings, grace- 

 fully wheels above me, and a moment 

 later, from his perch on the pump, the 

 door-stoop, the fence, a reck, or the 

 wall, come the thrilling notes of the 

 Whip-poor-will, with a distinct cluck 

 between each well known utterance. 



How loud and clear the notes sound, 

 and how still it seems when he finally 

 ceases. Then, a minute or two later, 

 you may wonder if he is simply resting 



or if he has changed position when 

 your thoughts are answered, for the 

 same clear notes reach your ear from 

 perhaps a quarter of a mile away. Then 

 the sound will finally end from that di- 

 rection, but shortly you will hear it 

 again, but still farther away, and after 

 a while the song will be lost in the dis- 

 tance. 



Possibly, along toward midnight you 

 are awakened from your slumber, by 

 one, two, or perhaps three, of these ec- 

 centric birds, not any of them over 

 eight rods from the house, trying to 

 outdo each other in vociferous rivalry. 

 They fairly make the welkin ring for 

 a few minutes, then all is silent for a 

 brief space, when the Whip-poor-wills 

 are again heard from a neighboring 

 farm. In this way they may be heard 

 until morning dawns, when they retire 

 to their selected thicket to spend their 

 hours of rest. 



It has been my privilege to discover 

 two nests of the Whip-poor-will. Both 

 were mere depressions in the dead 

 leaves in oak woods. Neither was near 

 a log, stump or rock, where this bird is 

 often said to lay her eggs, but in each 

 instance the nesting placj was among a 

 scattering undergrowth. 



The female is usually flushed from 

 her two creamy-white eggs, which are 

 elliptical in form and very richly mark- 

 ed with shades of brown, lavender and 

 lilac. I know of no prettier egg to be 

 f und in this section. 



Upon staiting the Whip-poor-will 

 from her nest she will fly but a short 

 distance, resting lengthwise on a low 

 branch, which is the custom of the Goat- 

 sucker family in alighting, or on the 

 ground, apparently to take her bear- 

 ings, when she will shortly resume her 

 flight and disappear among the seclud- 

 ed recesses of the forest. 



Early in September the females and 

 the young of the year depart for the 

 gulf states The old males remain a 

 week or twojlater than the others. At 

 this time their notes are uttered in a de- 

 sultory manner, and but a few times 

 during the evening. The birds, how- 

 ever, set m very active, pursuing noc- 

 turnal insects and froli' king with each 

 other. The remaining few move south 

 in obedience to that occult edict which 

 almost all our feathered friends ob- 

 serve. 



