The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1882-12-13
THE WHIPPOORwlLL AND THE
NIGHT.HAWK.

=. The poetical interest attached to the
whippoorwin is due in some degree to
the mystery associated with its seclusion
and with the darkness of the night.
Many persons who have never seen the
bird, on hearing its peculiar song in the
twilight, and not unfrequently at nid-
night on the rising of the moon, feel a
sensation of awe as If the musician were
the bearer of in-tidings to the neighbor-
hood. Hence the superstitious belief,
once almost universal, that the whip
poorwin Is the prophet of evil, and that
its appearance on wellsweep or on
the roof of shed is an omen of death to
one of the inmates of the house. This
notion Is nearly eradicated from the
minds of our people, who now listen
with delight to the whippoorwill, as the
Philomel of our wilderness.
The whippoorwin confines itself to
the woods and solitary fells exclusively
In the daytime, but in the night is more
exclusive, and often pays visit to the
enclosures of our dwellings, attracted
by the multitudes of moths and beetles
that gather around the lighted windows
of the house. At such times 1t seldom
leaves until it has poured forth its omi-
nous ditty into the ears of wakeful sleep
ers. This Is very truly song; and it is
one of the few bird songs that may be
accurately represented on the musical
gamut. 1t consists of the repetition of q
single triplet:
whirpoorwfll, vhippoorwill, etc.
The bird delivers its notes in quick
waltz-time; and when 1t is not too near
they are extremely musical and rather
plaintiye, though the plaintiveness is
owing less TO their expression than to
the solemnity of the twilight and soli-
tude. The whippoorwil1 sings in the
dusk of evening soon after the veery has
become silent and the last glow of sunset
has faded. The song is renewed at early
dawn, though the bird is less musical at
this hour than in the evening twilight,
which is morning, as 1t were, to this
nocturnal bird. It does not often sing
at midnight, except on the rising of the
moon.
When in pursuit of its prey the whip
poorwin flies low, sailing noiselessly just
above the tree tops and taking the larger
nocturnal insects in its fight. In the
daytime il conceals itself in the deep
woods, resting on the ground in some
high and dry situation. or in the branch
of tree, placing itself lengthwise upon
1t, not crosswise and clasping it like 9TH
er birds. But though the day rs the
time of sleep and rest for the whippoor-
viii, it is ssnever caught mapping" The
bird is so wary and so keenly sensitive
to the least motion and sound, that, ac-
cording to MIR. Gentry, it is difficult to
approach near enough to observe it
while at rest. When we are within a
few yards of it.. the bird takes q sudden
flight to another spot In this respect
it differs from the common owl, which
Is dull and stupid by day and not easily
aroused; hence it is often annoyed by
other birds.
DIR. Elliott Coues, who is always elo-
quent when he aims to be so, writes of
an allied species in the West called the
ssPoor VIII, !" because the bird omits the
first syllable of our birds name. he
says: "This cry is very lugubrious; and
In places where the birds are numerous.
the wailing chorus is enough to excite
vague apprehensions on the part of the
lonely traveller, as he lies down to rest
by his camp fire, or 10 break his sleep
with fitful dreams, In which lost spirits
appear TO bemoan their fate and to i'm
plore his intercession. 1t Is not strange
that heated fancy should riot in the
circumstances of desolation and immi-
nent peril, under which the emigrant or
the explorer must often be placed in the
Western wilderness. Experience comes
vividly to mind, at the present moment,
of night after night, when have grad
uall lost consciousness, with a mind
peopled with all manner of weird i'm
ages. Closing my eyes to the stars in
the broad expanse above-my only COW
erlet-and to the ruddy gleam from the
embers of the camp FIRE, with thought
of'home, and perhaps q silent aspira-
ton, it might be long before the sense
of hearing would desert its post. The
monotonous tread of the sentinel would
fall heavily on the ear; the horses would
seem to champ as never before; the
!. bands of vagrant coyotes would hunt
with redoubled energy. and all the
while the Poor Wills shouted thei1
alarm"
:. Like the whippoorwill, there is also
some mystery associated with the night
hawk, an allied species which is still
identified with it by many of our coun
try people. am not disposed, how
: ever, to argue with the ornithologist'
who have separated them into two diff
ferent genera. The two birds have /,
great superficial resemblance; but thel
differ in their fight and in some of theil
habits. That of the night-hawk is NOR,
varied, he flies higher and with the cas-,
of swallow. This bird has q sharp anC
peculiar cry, which is heard when it ap
pears at early twilight, and is readily
known and recognized by all who hav'
once heard it; it Is likened by Samuel
to the squeak of the common snipe. 1t
motions in the air have been compared
to those of the falcon, and its name i
probably derived from this resemblance
Tor the bird is not hawk in any sense
1t seldom appears in broad daylight
unless it has been disturbed. We maj
then observe a bright spot under eacl
of its wings.
The night-hawk is notable on accoun
of its mysterious s'booming" which i
heard chiefly in the early morning, jus
before dawn. No writer or observes
has yet explained the origin of this pc
culiar sound. In the early part of tn
season, while numbers of the birds ar
sailing about in the air, we hear tn,
boom as often as once in two or thre'
minutes. The bird makes a rapid, per
pendicular descent through considera
BILE space, then suddenly turns upward
making sort of scoop, at the same in
slant producing a sound like the twan:
of q viol string. Some think it Is causes
by the forcible pressure of the al
through the open mouth of the bird
making a sort of vibrating whistle
Audubon attributed the sound to tn
whizzing of the birds wings. An allie'
species in Europe is said to make sim
liar neise while sitting on its perch, ant
from this fact it would seem to be vo
cal sound.
Early In life made journey on foo
with several of my comrades over q soh
tary road in q half-wooded and pict
uresoue region. We started on our wall
at midnight in the last week of May. i
is a common observation that durin!
the stiffness of the night we are keenl..
sensitive to all unusual sights an
sounds. About three O'Clock in tn
,,,ovn;ncr we were startled by a sound