CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW. 463 
On my journey south, I first met with it between RicLmond and Pe- 
versburg, in‘Virginia, ‘and also on the banks of the Cumberland in 
Tennessee. 
Mr. Pennant has deszribed this bird under the appellation of the 
“ Short-winged Goatsucker,” (ret. Zool. No. 336,) from a specimen 
which he received from Dr. Garden, of Charleston, South Carolina ; 
but, in speaking of its manners, he confounds it with the Whip-poor- 
will, though the latter is little more than half the cubic bulk of the 
former, and its notes altogether different. “In South Carolina,” says 
this writer, speaking of the present sp.cies, “it is called, from one of 
its notes, chuck, Chuck-will’s-widow ; and, in the northern provinces, 
Whip-poor-will, from the resemblance which another of its notes bears 
to those words.” (Arct. Zool. p. 434.) He then proceeds to detail the 
manners of the Common Whip-poor-will, by extracts from Dr. Garden 
and Mr. Kalm, which clearly prove that all of them were personally 
unacquainted with that bird; and had never seen or examined any 
other than two of our species, the Short-winged or Chuck-will’s- 
widow, and the Long-winged, or Night Hawk, to both of which they 
indiscriminately attribute the notes and habits of the Whip-poor-will. 
The Chuck-will’s-widow, so called from its notes, which seem ex- 
actly to articulate those words, arrives on the sea-coast of Georgia 
about the middle of March, and in Virginia early in April. It com- 
mences its singular call generally in the evening, soon after ,sunset, 
and continues it, with short, occasional interruptions, for several hours. 
Towards morning these repetitions are renewed, and continue unti! 
dawn has fairly appeared. During the day it is altogether silent. 
This note, or call, instantly attracts the attention of a stranger, and is 
strikingly different from that of the Whip-poor-will. In sound and 
articulation it seems plainly to express the words which have been 
applied to it, (Chuck-will’s-.idow,) pronouncing each syllable leisurely 
and distinctly, putting the principal emphasis on the last word. In a 
still evening it may be heard at the distance of nearly a mile, the tones 
of its voice being stronger and more full than those of the Whip-poor- 
will, who utters his with much greater rapidity. In the Chickasaw 
country, and throughout the whole Mississippi Territory, I found the 
present species very numerous in the months of April and May, keep- 
ing up a continual noise during the whole evening, and, in moonlight, 
throughout the whole of the night. 
The flight of this bird is low, skimming about at a few feet above 
the surface of the ground, frequently settling on old logs, or on the 
fences, and from thence sweeping around, in pursuit of various winged 
insects that fly in the night. Like the Whip-poor-will, it prefers the 
declivities of glens and other deeply-shaded places, making the sur- 
rounding mountains ring with echoes the whole evening. I several 
times called the attention of the Chickasaws to the notes of this bird, 
on which occasions they always assumed a grave and thoughtful 
aspect; but it appeared to me that they made no distinction between 
the two species ; so that whatever superstitious notions they may enter- 
tain of the one, are probably applied to the other. 
This singular genus of birds, formed to subsist on the superabun- 
dance of nocturnal insects, are exactly and surprisingly fitted for their 
peculiar mode of life. T-eir flight is low, to accommodate itself to their 
