of ftmrnatett 



741 



WIDOW BIRD. The body of the Whidah- 

 flnch is generally about the size of a canary- 

 bird, but the male is remakable for an asto- 

 nishing development of plumage during the 

 breeding season, after which its splendid tail 

 drops off, and the sexes are then barely dis- 

 tinguishable. There are several species, 

 one of which, VIDUA PARADISEA, will be 

 sufficient to describe. The upper part of 

 the plumage is of a faded or deep brownish- 



FINCH. (VI 



I black ; but this colour becomes of a paler 



i hue on the wings and lateral tail-feathers. 



| The head, chin, and throat are of this faded 



i black, which extends downwards narrowing 



j as it descends, to the middle of the breast. 



I A broad rich orange rufous colour proceeds 



from the upper part of the back of the neck 



and unites with a tinge of the same colour 



on the sides of the neck and breast ; this last 



hue passes into the pale buff of the body, but 



leaves the under tail-covers black, like the 



upper ones. 



WHIMBREL. (Numenius Phceopus.) A 

 species of grallatorial bird closely allied to 

 the Curlew, but considerably smaller in size, 

 being not above eighteen inches long. The 

 plumage is of a grayish white, the feathers 

 being streaked with brown ; the scapulars 

 are brown, with pale edges ; the upper part 

 of the head is divided longitudinally by a 

 white line, bounded on each side by a black 

 one ; the bill is at least three inches long ; 

 the upper mandible is blackish brown, the 

 lower one pale red. Dr. Fleming, in his 

 British Animals, informs us that it forms its 

 nest on exposed heaths in Zetland, and lays 

 four or five eggs. After the breeding sea- 

 son it nearly disappears from the northern 

 islands, but, during winter, frequents the 

 English shores, associating in small flocks. 

 [See CURLEW.] 



WHINCHAT. (Saxicola rubetra.) A 

 species of Passerine bird which is not un- 

 I frequent in the British islands, and may be 

 ! commonly found on broom and furze, on the 

 highest twigs of which it perches, and occa- 

 sionally sings very sweetly. It builds its 

 i nest on the g_round, forming it of dried sticks, 

 I and lining it with fine grass. The female 

 lays six eggs of a uniform blue. It is rather 

 larger than the Stonechat, to which it is 

 closely allied. [See STONECHAT.] 



WHIP-POOR-WILL,. The American 

 name of a species of Goatsucker (Caprimul- 

 gus vociferus.) Wilson tells us, in his inter- 

 esting work on the Ornithology of Ame- 

 rica, that " on or about the 25th of April, if 

 the season be not uncommonly cold, the 

 whip-poor-will is first heard in Pennsylvania, 

 in the evening, as the dusk of twilight com- 

 mences, or in the morning as soon as dawn 

 has broke. In the state of Kentucky I first 

 heard this bird on the 14th of April, near 

 the town of Danville. The notes of this 

 solitary bird, from the ideas which are na- 

 turally associated with them, seem like the 

 voice of an old friend, and are listened to by 

 almost all with great interest. At first they 

 issue from some retired part of the woods, 

 the glen, or mountain ; in a few evenings, 

 perhaps, we hear them from the adjoining 

 coppice, the garden fence, the road before 

 the door, and even from the roof of the 

 dwelling-house, long after the family have 

 retired to rest. Some of the more ignorant 

 and superstitious considered this near ap- 

 proach as foreboding no good to the family, 

 nothing less than sickness, misfortune, or 

 death, to some of its members ; these visits, 

 however, so often occur without any bad 

 consequences, that this superstitious dread 

 seems on the decline. 



" He is now a regular acquaintance. Every 

 morning and evening his shrill and rapid 

 repetitions are heard from the adjoining 

 woods, and when two or more are calling out 

 at the same time, as is often the case in the 

 pairing season, and at no great distance from 

 each other, the noise, mingling with the 

 echoes from the mountains, is really sur- 

 prising. Strangers, in parts of the country 

 where these birds are numerous, find it al- 

 most impossible for some time to sleep 5 while 

 to those long acquainted with them , the sound 

 often serves as a lullaby to assist their repose. 



" These notes seem pretty plainly to arti- 

 culate the words which have been generally 

 applied to them, whip-poor-will, the first and 

 last syllables being uttered with great em- 

 phasis, and the whole in about a second to 

 each repetition ; but when two or more males 

 meet, their whip-poor-will altercations be- 

 come much more rapid and incessant, as if 

 each were straining to overpower or silence 

 the other. When near, you often hear an 

 introductory cluck between the notes. At 

 these times, as well as at almost all others, 

 they fly low, not more than a few feet from 

 the surface, skimming about the house and 

 before the door, alighting on the wood pile, 

 or settling on the roof. Towards midnight 

 nerally become silent, unless in cl 



.oonlight, when they are heard with little 

 intermission till morning. If there be a 

 creek near, with hig-i precipitous bushy 

 banks, they are sure to be found in such 

 situations. During the day they sit in the 

 most retired, solitary, and deep shaded parts 

 of the woods, generally on high ground, 

 where they repose in silence. When dis- 

 turbed, they rise within a few feet, sail low 

 and slowly through the woods for thirty or 

 forty yards, and generally settle on a low 

 branch or on the ground. Their sight ap- 

 pears deficient during the day, as, like owls, 



