294 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



female: throat band buff ; three outer tail feathers tipped with ochraceous 

 buff. Wing 6.00 ; culmen 0.40. Base of bill with long stiff bristles. 



Geog. Dist. — Eastern North America, west to the Plains, north to Nova 

 Scotia, Quebec and northern Ontario, south to Indian Territory and Texas 

 in breeding season ; wintering from eastern Mexico and Florida to Guatemala ; 

 casual in Porto Rico and the West Indies. 



County Records. — Androscoggin; common summer resident, (Johnson). 

 Aroostook ; found at Houlton, (Batchelder, B. N. 0. C. 7, p. 150) ; found near 

 Eagle Lake Mills, (Morin) ; heard at New Limerick and Monticello, (Knight). 

 Cumberland ; common summer resident, (Mead). Franklin ; common sum- 

 mer resident, (Richards). Hancock; summer resident, (Dorr). Kennebec; 

 rare summer resident, (Gardiner Branch). Knox; migrant, (Rackliff). 

 Oxford; breeds commonly, (Nash). Penobscot; common summer resident 

 of more or less local occurrence, (Knight). Piscataquis ; common, (Homer). 

 Sagadahoc ; very rare, (Spinney). Somerset ; not common summer resident, 

 (Morrell); locally common summer resident, (Knight). Waldo; locally 

 common summer resident, (Knight). Washington ; not uncommon summer 

 resident, (Boardman). York; common summer resident, (Adams). 



Owing to the great difficulty of detecting the arrival of this 

 species, owing to its quiet and secretive habits during the day 

 time, it is rather difficult to state just when it firsb arrives from 

 the south and when it departs again. My own experience near 

 Bangor is that the earliest date I have heard the species calling 

 is May 15, and the last date I have seen it in fall is September 

 3, but I am inclined to believe it arrives earlier and remains 

 later than is indicated by these dates. 



These birds were especially numerous in the woods near the 

 University of Maine in former years and during my student 

 days it was quite usual to hear eight to ten calling during 

 almost any pleasant evening of early June. As darkness 

 approached first one and then another would call " wuck " 

 " a-wuck " from the depths of the woods and after this had 

 gone the rounds several times and darkness had settled down a 

 bolder individual would begin " a-whip " " a-whip " and after 

 getting its voice well tuned would boldly launch forth into the 

 regular refrain "a-whip-poor-will-a-whip-poor-will-a-whip-poor- 

 will-a-whip " and this was taken up on all sides. 



Later on they left the woods and held seances on the roof 

 over my head, sometimes driving me to desperation with their 



