62 EVERYDAY BIRDS 



The bird rises gradually to a considerable height, 

 and presently drops Uke a stone almost to the 

 ground. At the last moment it arrests itself sud- 

 denly, and then is heard a very pecuUar " boom- 

 ing " noise, whether produced by the wings or 

 by the voice, I will not presume to say. 



The most attractive feature of the nighthawk, 

 to my eye, is its beautiful and peculiar flight — 

 a marvel of ease and grace, and sufficient to dis- 

 tinguish it at a glance from every other New 

 England bird. It is a creature of the upper air, 

 never skimming the ground, so far as I know, 

 and as it passes overhead you may easily see the 

 large white patch in the middle of each long 

 wing — a beauty spot, by the way, which is 

 common to both sexes, and is wanting in the 

 whip-poor-will. 



The whip-poor-will's chief distinction is its 

 song — a song by itself, and familiar to every 

 one. Some people call it mournful, and I fear 

 there are still a few superstitious souls who listen 

 to it with a kind of trembhng. I have heard of 

 the bird's being shot because the inhabitants of a 

 house could not bear its doleful and boding cry, 

 as they were pleased to consider it. To my ears 

 it is sweet music. I take many an evening stroll 

 on purpose to enjoy it, and am perennially thank- 

 ful to Audubon for saying that he found the 



