Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-07-28
The Habits Of the WhippoorwilL

From The HGrtf0rd b0e0Sng Post.
There has been for some time in Hart
ford a standing inquiry concerning the
habits of the whippOorwill; not so much
its habits Of eating, nesting and the
like, but OF song. Does it., for instance,
sing in the morning? Our pertinaciOus
inquirer even .yersified the query, and in
sisted upon mtlicting his rhymes upon a
small segment of the unOfendinR public.
Inquiry of several persons born and bred
in the country disclosed the INFORMATION
that they had never heard the whippoor-
will sing in the, morning, The subject
had, gamidcatlops, and into some OF these
the searcheF was led. The remark able
shyness of the bird was discussed. 81
have never seen a whippoorwill," said one
country bred person, "althOugh l have
heard many of them sing." "Neither
have seen one" said another, whose
love of nature is in his very bones. "They
keep close In their hsunts, and although
have often searched for them | have
never been successful" A reader of the
atlantic noted that in one of that maya
zines bird articles the exceeding modesty
OF the whippoorwiIl was alluded TO as
noteworthy characteristic. Few people,
comparatively, have had the pleasure of
getting q sight of the bird. So 1t seemed
to be settled that the whippoorwill does
does not sing in the morning; that it con-
fines its plaintive melody 10 the nighti
and that il is so shy that little is gener-
ally known concerning its quiet habits.
CyclOp@dias, however, tell different
story bearing on the tnterrOgatory. The
whippoOrwill does sing in the morning, as
well as at night.
A citizen Of long experience who was
born and brought up In a country town,
said be had heard the whippoorwill sing
in the morning:
eyes, sir, often" And others have since
come TO his support.
"HaVe you ever seen oneW
eyes, sir. They are black and small
a little bigger than a robin, perhaps. And
! know great deal about their habits.
They lay their eggs -0nlY two are seen at
a tipe-in the open field opa stone !
have seen many OF these.
''Aild another thing; when they start
to fly they 60 up IN a straight liDe-wav,
way up ever so high; you might think
they were never coming down again. And
they make u noise at short intervals like
peep Peep peep When they descend
they alight at fine point of Starting, just
before reaching which they emit harsh
and peculiar nOise.H laDar
THAT'S the night-hawk," said a listener
when the informant had departed. she
goes up lust like that on the edge of the
when he comes down is just as barshly
expressive. That's the night-hawk ex-
actly."
The uight-bawk and the whippoorwiI
are allied, and resemble each other in
size. The whippO0rwilI Is ten inches
long; the hawk nine. They fly at the
same dneky hours, and are frequently
heard in the morning; and save for the
difference in their cries and methods of
flight might be easily COMPOUNDED. The
whippoorwill is supposed to sing from
alder bushes generally, the dense growth
OF which is congenial; and not necessarily
from woods ON low or swampy land,
although the alder grows on moist ground.
A friend relates that at his country
home a whippoorwill was In the habit Of
sitting and singing at dusk on the step
ping.st0ne before a much-used door on the
north side Of the house. The family were
very careful not 10 alarm him, that they
might watch him when the moon rose.