A SEARCH FOR A WHIPPOORWILL’S NEST. 197 
face—the whippoorwills, in the woods, and the night 
hawks, usually on city buildings. They both make a 
guttural noise while on the wing, although the night 
hawk never sings. They are both nocturnal in their 
habits, and generally fly noiselessly like the owls. The 
whippoorwills are more solitary in their habits, and pre- 
fer the deeper woods, though occasionally they will ven- 
ture near a farm house after dark, when they will sing 
their monotonous and plaintive song during half the 
night. The night hawk is oftener heard in the city than 
elsewhere, during summer evenings, as he circles and 
dives through the air in search of insects, which he 
takes on the wing. 
After leaving the whippoorwill’s nest, our guide, who 
had fulfilled his mission and become quite communica- 
tive, said he “might as well leave us and follow the 
creek down through the woods and meadows, ‘sucker- 
ing,’ andaf the suckers were shy, he knew where there 
were lots of big fool frogs waiting to be catched.” 
It was in this woods, years ago, that I first heard the 
winter’ wren. Since then I have heard the song so fre- 
quently here that I am always on the tip-toe of expecta- 
tion when in this swamp, so on this occasion my friend 
and I went in different directions, he in search of his 
favorite flower, the showy lady’s slipper, and I to find 
the little musical king of the woods. Soon I heard my 
friend’s enthusiastic shout, “Come! [ve found my win- 
ter wren! I’ve found my winter wren!” I met him with 
hands full of the most showy flower of the woods. It 
was a find, so early in the season, but the wren, not to 
