290 The Whip-poor-will 



action would bring sorrow to the household. It seems odd that people 

 should be superstitious about anything as harmless as a bird, but in rural 

 communities one often finds people who believe much ill-luck may happen 

 to them if a Whip-poor-will sings too close to the house. If they were 

 better acquainted with this gentle, feathered creature, they would surely 

 know that nothing evil could come from it. 



Many more people have heard this bird call than have ever seen it, 

 for, like the owl, its day begins only when the sun goes down, and before 

 the sun comes up again it has settled to sleep on the dead leaves that 

 cover the ground in the thicker parts of the woods. It appears never 

 to give its call during the daytime. While hunting for wild flowers you 

 will sometimes come upon its hiding-place. It must sleep with one ear 

 open, for the bird seems always to hear you before you see it, and on 

 silent wings it will rise and fly quickly out of sight among the bushes. 

 If such an experience should happen to one in the months of May 

 or June, it is quite worth while to search the leaves very carefully, for 

 you may have stumbled upon the nest, which, in reality, is no nest at all, 

 but is simply a place on the leaves that the mother- 

 Nest bird has chosen to be the temporary home of her little 

 ones. The faintly spotted, cream-colored eggs so 

 closely resemble the faded, washed-out, last season's leaves on which 

 they are lying, that it takes a sharp eye, indeed, to find them. So one 

 should proceed slowly, lest an unfortunate step might crush the two little 

 oblong beauties. Usually one is not quite certain of the exact spot from 

 which the bird flew. On such occasions I sometimes place my hat or 

 handkerchief on the ground near the place, and, like a dog hunting for 

 a lost trail, begin to walk around the spot, increasing the circle con- 

 stantly as I go. By this means, sooner or later, one will be pretty sure 

 to find the eggs if they are there. 



If, when the bird flies, it soon comes to the earth again, and appears 



to be suffering from sudden injury, you may be sure that it has a secret 



that it is trying to keep from you, and, by feigning a broken wing, it 



hopes you will follow in an attempt to capture it. 



Feigning Injury If you approach the bird, it will fly before you a 



few yards at a time until, having led you away a safe 



distance from the nest, it will suddenly recover, and, then, rising strong 



on the wing, you will see it no more. Doubtless the eggs are often saved 



from destruction in this way, for a hunting dog, fox, or 'coon, will seek 



to catch the bird, and entirely overlook the presence of eggs or young. 



If the eggs have hatched you will need to look even closer if you 



are to be rewarded. The two little Whip-poor-wills, with their soft, 



downy coats, will lie motionless on the leaves, without even so much as 



an eyelid .moving to betray their presence. Their coloring, too, blends 



so wonderfully with their surroundings that I sometimes wonder if any 



enemy is ever able to find them. 



In many of the Southern States lives the Chuck-will's-widow, which 

 also bears the name given to its call. It is larger than the Whip-poor- 



