BIRDS OF THE NIGHT. 285 



THE WHIPPOORWILL. 



The Whippoorwill is well known to the inhabitants 

 of New England by his nocturnal song. This is heard 

 chiefly in wooded and retired situations, and is associated 

 with the solitude of the forest as well as the silence of 

 the night. The Whippoorwill is therefore emblematic 

 of the rudeness of primitive nature, and his voice re- 

 minds us of seclusion and retirement. Sometimes he 

 wanders away from the wood into the precincts of the 

 town, and sings near our dwelling-houses. Such an in- 

 cident was formerly the occasion of superstitious alarm, 

 and was regarded as an omen of evil to the inmates of 

 the dwelling. The cause of these irregular visits is 

 probably the accidental abundance of a particular kind 

 of insects which the bird has followed from the woods. 



The Whippoorwill in this part of the country is first 

 heard in May, and continues vocal until the middle of 

 July. He begins to sing at dusk ; and we usually hear 

 his note soon after the Veery, the Philomel of our summer 

 evenings, has become silent. His song consists of three 

 notes, in a sort of polka-time, with a slight rest after the 

 first note in each bar, as given below : 



Whip poor will Whip poor will Whip poor will Whip. 



I should remark that the bird begins his song with the 

 second syllable of his name, if ' we may suppose him to 

 utter the word, or I might say with the second note in 

 the bar. Some birds occasionally, though seldom, fall 

 short of these musical intervals, as they are written on the 

 scale, and an occasional cluck is heard when we are near 

 the singer. The notes of the Quail so clearly resemble 



