DELAWARE VALLEY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 11 



Other cases have been noted where similar restaurants were 

 placed conveniently near the nest-cavity. If more extended 

 observation shows this to be a constant feature of the nesting 

 habits of the Sapsucker, it should receive more credit than it 

 has, either for intelligence or else for exceptional good lack. 



The Whip-poor-will probabl}^ holds the record as the bird 

 best known by voice while least known by sight. No one who 

 spends a few evenings out of doors during the proper season can 

 fail to notice the loud emphatic call, repeated so many times 

 in quick succession that the listener wonders why the bird does 

 not succumb for want of breath. "Sad and shrill" may de- 

 scribe the notes for some people, but for me they are more 

 suggestive of good times among the mountains than any other 

 sound. 



The bird itself may be seen sometimes as a lump in the 

 wagon-road, in the dim light not distinguishable from a stone; 

 until it suddenly and noiselessly vanishes away. Occasionally 

 a Whip-poor-will rises from before one's feet in the day-time, 

 is in sight for an instant, and then is lost among the trees. 

 Under similar circumstances the Woodcock makes nearlj' the 

 same appearence, but may be distinguished by the shrill 

 whistling of its wings. 



The chance to make the Whip-poor-will's acquaintance comes 

 when its home is found. The two eggs are laid in the leaves 

 which form the floor of the forest, apparently any spot which is 

 sufficiently level will answer. The eggs are so light-colored 

 that they are quite conspicious. They rest about an inch apart 

 so that the body of the brooding bird comes between them. 

 During at least part of the time, one egg is held under each 

 wing. The parent bird is not very shy at the nest, apparently 

 relying on her protective coloring. 



The Nighthawk is found, during the nesting season, in the 

 more open sections where the eggs are placed on the bare ground. 

 I have also noticed the birds diving and booming in one of the 

 tracts where many old stubs stick up from quiet water. If the 

 nest were near by, the top of a stump would seem to be the 

 only place for it. Later in the summer they become more 

 numerous, moving about in silent, straggling flocks. 



