I have never found Whip-poor-wills in the country south of 
my camp although I have frequently left the birds near 
•camp in full song and made definite effort to locate others to 
the south. Westerly (up river) the bird occurs regularly, but 
easterly (down river) there is a barren spot before coming to 
the great Wenham Swamp where the bird is common. 
That this spotty distribution of the Whip-poor-will is not 
confined to my immediate neighborhood is quite evident from 
my personal observations in other localities, and the experience 
of various observant friends scattered throughout the county. 
Wherever we hear the Whip-poor-will we probably shall find 
heavy woods bordered by fields and open land where insects 
abound, but we shall not necessarily find the bird in every such 
locality. 
In considering the occurence, or rather the non-occurence, 
of summer residents at any point, it is usually apparent that one, 
or more, of the conditions necessary to the health and comfort 
of the bird in question, is lacking. In the case of the Whip- 
poor-will, there is no such apparent lack. In some species 
the hunting and feeding area occupied by a breeding pair of 
birds is large, and aggressively protected by the occupants, 
but the number of Whip-poor-wills around my camp, and the 
very large group which hunts over the Wenham Swamp with¬ 
out apparent strife, removes this possible explanation of the 
intermittant occurence. It is hoped that further study will 
shed some light on this matter, but at present I can only con¬ 
clude that certain parts of the county endowed with many 
advantages, still lack some feature apparent to the bird, but 
not to the observer. 
The birds which have been my neighbors, and provided so 
much entertainment the past three summers, have as much 
individuality of song and habit as my human friends. Their 
voices are immediately recognizable, and their singing posts 
as much a matter of routine, as the daily life of the average 
person. 
Writers, in discussing the song of the Whip-poor-will, usually 
call attention to a Chuck or Cluck only to be heard within 
a short distance of the singer. Frank M ? Chapman writes, 
“If one is quite near the singer, a preliminary chuck may be 
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