58 THE NIDOLOGIST 
the sea bottom. He uses a flash light obtained 
from a spirit lamp and magnesium powder, 
which is covered by a water-tight bell jar. The 
lamp stands on a barrel containing oxygen gas, 
which he employs to work the lamp and the 
pneumatic shutter of the camera. He breathes 
through the supply pipe of the diving dress. 
The camera is water-tight and stands on a tri- 
pod near the barrel, so that the shutter and the 
flash light can be worked together.” 
In the future we hope to present not a few 
results of this character, that will exhibit the 
work of American and foreign naturalists else- 
where. 
>.> 
Whip-=poor-=will Notes. 
HILE sitting on a stump, before day- 
light on May 1, 1895, I listened to the 
bird voices that came to me from the 
hillsides and ravines that surrounded me. 
Silent within myself, and soothed by the twi- 
light and the breath of the night wind that 
swept softly through the trees; breathing the 
fragrance of the forest, those subtle odors of 
budding and blooming life, of wild plum blos- 
soms and the pink-tinted blooms of the wild 
crab, that pearl among our wild fruit trees; the 
spicy perfume of the ferns that grew in rank 
profusion on the steep slopes beside me; the 
scented breath from herb and shrub and tree, 
breaking forth into 7zav¢ growth at the call of 
April’s sun and showers—it seemed the little for- 
est glen was almost a paradise. High overhead 
could be heard the voices of Martins as they 
circled through the darkness, while from every 
direction, trembling through the “dim aisles of 
the woods,” came the songs of the Whip-poor- 
wills. In the midst of these beautiful surround- 
ings, the prosaic notebook and pencil were 
busy. 
At first all songs heard were the usual ones 
of the Whip-poor-wills; soon after, from a neigh- 
boring ravine, came a song so remarkable that 
my attention was instantly directed toward it. 
It resembled the ordinary song in all respects, ex- 
cept in having between each “ whip-poor-will ” 
a “cluck,” sounding as though a dry log was 
struck by a tack hammer. I soon found that 
the “ cluck ”’ followed the phrase, but was near- 
est the following, thus: “Whip-poor-will—cluck; 
whip-poor-will—cluck; whip-poor-will,” etc. 
This was about four o’clock. Soon after, a 
Whip-poor-will lit just opposite me, in the top of 
a dead tree which spanned the ravine. A 
moment’s silence, and then began the song 
above described. Searching the place as care- 
fully as I could with an opera glass, I could see 
no trace of the singer, though the gray outlines 
of the log and the dead branches were fairly 
distinct. After singing for some time, he sud- 
denly ceased. Then came what was to me a 
most extraordinary performance. ‘There came 
a continuous stream of low guttural notes, re- 
sembling “ kaw-kaw-kaw-kaw-kaw-kaw,” etc., 
with occasional harsh notes, “ kuk-uk-uk-uk,” 
almost “ kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk,”’ interspersed with- 
out interfering with the regular utterance of 
the “kaw ”’ notes. Then with a few “ quirts,” 
the bird flew over the bill and disappeared in 
the next ravine. 
It was a curious performance, one I have 
never seen described, and have never heard 
before nor since. Was it a love song of gen- 
eral occurrence in the mating season, or was 
this the performance of some erratic individual 
whose abilities led him out of the usual line? 
The alarm note, “quirt,” above mentioned, 
is commonly heard both from the ground and 
as the bird flies in easy curves through the trees 
and underbrush. 
The flight of the Whip-poor-will is strikingly . 
like that of its near relative, the Nighthawk; 
and though performed in a maze of trees and 
underbrush, it is remarkably easy and grace- 
ful. 
After all Whip-poor-wills had ceased singing, 
Ispent a couple of hours studying Warbler 
songs; and then, tired, hungry, and a trifle 
sleepy, walked up the ravine into which my 
singer had disappeared. A pair of Whip-poor- 
wills flew up and alighted on an old log. They 
were male and female, and, so far as I couid 
see, did not differ in the least from the general 
run of Whip-poor-wills. J. C. Gattoway. 
Montgomery, O. 
->—-> > 
Welcome News of Bluebirds. 
HE following letter has been received by 
Mr. Ridgway, Curator of the Depart- 
ment of Birds in the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion, Washington, who kindly places it in our 
hands as an interesting and welcome piece of 
news: 
SANDY SPRING, Montgomery County, 
Md, December 14, 1895. 
RosperT RipGway, Esq., Smithsonian Institu- 
tion. 
Dear Sir: While driving a few days ago, 
some miles north of Washington, my son, who 
was with me, exclaimed: “ Look az the Blue- 
birds!’’ There were, perched on telegraph 
wires and flying about, at least twenty-five 
birds; and a few miles farther on we saw an- 
other smaller flock of perhaps half a dozen. My 
son suggested that they might be visitors from 
Florida; he has been observing them with in- 
creasing frequency for months past. It was a 
