The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1884-10-30
Rnatinz tae whlppoerw.ll

kis window and see the birds busy in
che trees or upon the grass. Even at
night have gone out to discover what
n was that set the black-billed cuckoo
accomplishing TO the darkness, and
caused the homely hair-bird or chip
png-sparrow TO utter his plain, yet
musical. trill under the silent stars. On
the sides Of the mountains hereabouts,
en- warm, moonlight summer nights,
enc who will take the trouble 10 tramp
through some very uncom: ortable ter
tjtory, encountered By rocks and over
grown with young, but vigorous. usnes,
may find himself in the midst Of very
Eyely community. Here those weird
aud ghostly birds, the whippoorwills,
swarm In great numbers. hugging all
day the leaf-strewn ground. which their
plumage so closely initiates that they
seem part Of the earth itself. and at
Right waking into nervous activity
for which their sluggish apathy during
the hours of sunshine hardly prepares
the mind of the student of their habit 8.
In shooting by day over the mount aims,
l have often come upon the drowsy con.
sregations of these night birds, almost
stepping upon them before they would
Nv, and then seeing them rise at my
feet and tlutter away as noiselessly as
owls, OF rs If they were dry leaves
srged onward by the wind. -~-.--.
But for the silence of their flight theY
might be mistaken for woodcocks. and
are quite as fleet; yet they are reluc-
liant TO fly far, and soon alight upon
some branch. which they always strike
upon at right angles, like other birds,
but Immediately turn and rest upon il
Iengthwise. This peculiarly they share
with their cousins. the night-hawks
The two varieties are often considered
identical by rustic observers lereabouts,
although differing from each other in
appearance and habits, the cause Of
their manner of resting on tree branches
evidently being the weakness OF the'I
feet, which are almost rudimentary, and
an Inheritance from many general ons
Of earth-squatting ancestors. Tbs
proper place of the whippoorwill and
hight-hawk Is upon the ground, rock,
OF some other broad, fat surface. They
are not fond of trees, and seldom rest in
them, and when they do so, they are
partly dependent for support upon the
resting of Their breasts upon the branch.
3 A whippoorwilPs eye is quite express.
sionles1. 1t shows no noticeable dist nc
ton between pupil and iris, and, like
that Of all purely nocturnal birds. it is
constructed for the adm ssion of all the
light that can possibly be obtained.
There is something very impressive
in this stolid and unvaryiug stare ci
the night birds. l have seen nearly
every emotion in the eyes of my feath.
cred friends OF the day, but those of the
night invariably hold a mask before
any feelings they may experience. But
20 return to the whippoorwills. Al
night the dusky thickets in which they
swarm become singularly animated.
The strange song reSounds on every
side, and those who have heard it only
at distance can have no idea of the
tremendous volume of it when it is ut
tered close at hand. 1t seems impossi.
bic that one bird could make such q
racket. and when twenty are at it al
once the resultant uproar strangely at
fects the nerves with its eerie and al
most diabolical quality. During the ut
teranoe of the song the birds are at rest,
either upon some rock or low bush, and
Mt its conclusion they dart rap dly about
selling upon the insects, chiefly the
pight-hying coleoptere and lepidoptere,
which form their food.
They are astonishinyly swift in their
movements. and their flight, half seen
in the moonlight as it Sits through the
treos. is exceedingly graceful, pictur-
ssquesness being lent to it by RAPID
openings and shuttings of the fan like
calls, the broad white patches on each
side of which become at such times very
conspicuous objects. have sometimes
shot these birds simply upon the disclos
ure of their whereabouts that was made
BY this quick display of white feathers
but should not like to mention the
quantity of ammunito on that was wasted
before this result was accomplished.
The night-hawk is not so purely q noe.
turnal bird as the whippoorwill, al
though all night long may be heard
above the town his monotonous squeak
and the dull sound of his swoop as he
falls through the sir TO capture an in
sect far below him. 1t is like the noise
produced BY blowing into the bunghole
Of barrel. On cloudy days, however
be hawks about from sunrise until dark
and it has been my observation that
when he does so he rests during the
night.
Occasionally the nighthawk comes
cut in broad sunlight. and thus further
sonfuses the searcher into his habits.
remember on one occasion, when hunt.
ing in the meadows late in the summer
with friend. seeing cloud of these
birds rise from the 8 dc of Mount Hol-
yoke. as if at prearranged signal. and
cross the river toward us. We had
never seen night-hawks in flock before.
and stood and watci ed them with great
interest. There must have been a
couple of thousand in the company, and
On reaching the meadows they spread
cut and CHARTERED over the ground at a
height Of about ten feet, catching up
the insects that rose from tho clover
The van WAS led by the older birds, as
we discovered by observing ON their
tails the white band which marks the
adult Of the species. and the younger
snembers, which were evid ,'ntly bird:
Of the year. came behind. They mani
tested complete Indifference to our pres
ence, and we. perceiving an uneXamplei
opportunity to secure some fine spcci-
mems of this not very easly-obtained
variety for our cabinets, began picking
sff the best of them. We shot none ex-
eept those in whose tails we could sec
The white band. yet we secured more
than twenty before the van of the flock
passed by and the immature members
came up, and as they were passn very