392 WHIPPOORWILL. 



pines, hemlocks, and a great variety of deciduous trees and shrubs is the most charming 

 period of the day. The fragrance of flowering shrubs and the aromatic and strengthening 

 odor of the white pines fill the air. Not far distant the low murmur of a cool spring 

 hurrying to the nearest brook is heard. We see the glowing red and purple, yellow and 

 orange of the setting sun shining through the trees. The diversified tinkling of cow-bells 

 falls on our ear. The twilight of evening is of considerable duration in this northern lati- 

 tude. The birds which in the late afternoon were all very lively and in full song, become 

 silent. Most of them retire to their roosting places. The Towhee bids farewell to the 

 parting day with a subdued and prolonged che-we-wink-wink. With the beginning of 

 dusk a deep silence seems predominant everywhere. This stillness, however, is not of 

 long duration. From a densely wooded glen the enchantingly sweet and mellow song 

 of the Yeery begins to resound, at first in a low and persuasive tone, then gradually 

 louder, fuller, and more reverberating until the whole woodland re-echos with the sweetest 

 music. The somewhat plaintive and yet so melodious and charming strain of the Rose- 

 breasted Grosbeak also resounds from far and near. Resting on a soft carpet of moss 

 and lycopodiura {Lycopodium dendroideum) , or of wintergreen {Gaultberia procumbens), 

 and partridge-berry {Mitchella repens), we listen and listen until darkness overtakes us. 

 Although in swampy localities the discordant croaking or bellowing sounds of the 

 bull-frog, and the hooting cries of the Owls somewhat mar the serenity and glory of 

 these night-concerts, 'on the other hand, their beauty and effectiveness is enhanced by 

 the call of the Whippoorwill. Suddenly, quite near our resting place, the strange and 

 yet so poetical sounds of this bird are uttered. Incessantly they are poured forth, being 

 now heard quite at a distance, and then again in our immediate neighborhood. Whip- 

 poor-will, whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will is called four and even six 

 times quickly in succession. Loudly these intonations sound through the dark forest, 

 blending admirably with the notes of the Veery and the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. To the 

 superstitious among the early settlers these nocturnal calls had something mystical, dis- 

 mal, and frightful. Having heard them from earliest childhood, they were to me always 

 exceedingly poetical and home-like, and had an extremely soothing effect. In my fancy 

 these sounds are the true accompaniment of beautiful days, warm evenings, delicate and 

 rare flowers, in a word, of spring in all its glory. Indeed, the Whippoorwill is one of our 

 most characteristic and familiar birds, and many of our poets have sung its praise. 

 Where it occurs it cannot be overlooked, and its voice cannot be missed in the concert, 

 of Nature. If we observe closely in a bright moonlight night, we will see it circle around 

 constantly, flying up and down and from one tree to another, alighting now and then 

 on the ground or on a fallen forest giant. 



The woodlands in which I have observed the Whippoorwill since my earliest boy- 

 hood, are to be considered its favorite haunts. Small lakes abound everywhere. Tamarack 

 and white cedar swamps, often of large size, make an agreeable change in the landscape. 

 Murmuring springs and rapid brooks flow into the lakes. Shady glens and dreamy 

 glades are frequently met with.. Scarcely anywhere the variety of trees and shrubs 

 is greater. Birches and beeches, lindens and larches, maples and moose-wood, ashes and 

 oaks, white-pines and hemlocks, white-cedars and junipers, iron and hop trees, etc., are 

 the most common trees. On the ground old forest giants are found in all states of 



