74 THE WHIP-POOR-WILL. 



But to riBume my relation : That the owl was the miw 

 derer of the unfortunate Crow, there could be no doubt. 

 No other bird of prey was in sight ; I had not fired my gun 

 since I entered the wood ; nor heard any one else shoot •, 

 besides, the unequivocal situation in which I found the 

 parties, would have been sufficient, before any ' twelve good 

 men and true,' or a jury of Crows, to have convicted him 

 of his guilt. It is proper to add, that I avenged the death 

 of the hapless Crow, by a well-aimed shot at the felonioua 

 robber, that extended him breathless on the ground." 



THE WHIP-POOR-WILL. (Caprimulgus vociferut.) 



This celebrated bird is common in various parts of the 

 United States. Its name is derived from its notes, which 

 seem pretty plainly to articulate the words whtp^oor-wtUf 

 the first and last syllable being uttered with great emphasis, 

 and the whole in about a second to each repetition. It has 

 been sometimes confounded with the two other species of 

 the genus, the church-will' s-widow and the night-hawk. 

 Mr. Wilson, however, has settled the question, by examin- 

 ing and accurately describing the diflferent species. The 

 Whip-poor-will is nine inches long and nineteen in extent; 

 the bill is blackish, a quarter of an inch long, mnch gtiougdl 



