186 WHIP-POOR-WILL 



baths to free itself from vermin, its movements on 

 the ground are awkward, its feet being weak and 

 short ; but its aerial movements are most grace- 

 ful. He says : " I have seen one touch the back 

 of its wings together as it sw.ept by me, arrest its 

 noiseless flight instantly, drop to the ground al- 

 most perpendicularly, pick up some insect, and 

 dash away as suddenly as it halted. At such 

 times it occasionally utters a low, purring or 

 grunting noise like ' dtick-clack,' and another 

 sounding like 4 zue-see, zue-see,' which cannot be 

 heard unless one is close by." When the Major 

 was in northern New York a pair of the birds 

 were in the habit of coming about the house 

 where he was staying, and one evening, by watch- 

 ing them from inside a building, he was fortu- 

 nate enough to see their curious love-making. " I 

 saw one of the birds waddling about in a very 

 excited manner," he tells us. " Its head appeared 

 to be all mouth, and its notes were uttered so 

 rapidly that, close as I was to the bird, they 

 sounded like one long, continuous roll. A few 

 seconds after his first effort (it was the male) 

 he was joined by his mate, and she at once com- 

 menced to respond with a peculiar, low, buzzing 

 or grunting note, like ' gaw-gaw-gaw,' undoubt- 

 edly a note of approval or endearment. This 

 evidently cost her considerable effort ; her head 

 almost touched the ground while uttering it, her 

 plumage was relaxed, and her whole body seemed 



