Morning journal and courier., 1885-07-24
The Habits of the Whippoorwill.


 There has been for some time in Hartford standing inquiry concerning the habits of the whippoorwill; notso much it's habits of | eating, nesting and the like, but the song. Does it, for instance, sing in the morn1ngl Our pertinacious inquirer even versifed the query, and insisted upon inficting his rhymes upon small segment of the unof- lending public. The inquiry of several per sons born and bred in the country disclosed the information that they had never heard the whippoorwill sing in the morning. The subject had notifications, and into some of these the searcher was led. The remarka- ble shyness of the bird was discussed. '1 have never seen a whippoorwill, said one country bred person, "although I have heard many of them sing" "Neither have I seen one, said another, whose love of nature is in his very bones. 'They keep close in their haunts, and although have often searched for them I have never been successful" A reader of the Atlantic noted that in one of that magazines bird articles the exceeding modesty of the whippoorwiIl was alluded to a noteworthy characteristic. Few people, comparatively, have had the pleasure of get ting sight of the bird. So it seemed to be settled that the whippoorwil1 does not sing in the morning; that it confines it's plaintive melody to the night; and that it is so shy that little is generally known concerning its quiet habits.
 Cyclopedias, however, tell a different story bearing on the interrogatory. The whippoorwill does sing in the morning. as we'll as at night.
 A citizen of long experience who was born and brought up in a country town said he had heard the whippoorwill sing in the morning
 ''Yes, sir, often" And others have since come to his support.
 '|Have you ever seen one?"
 "Yes, sir. They are black and small-a little bigger than robin, perhaps. And l know great deal about their habits. They lay their eggs-only two are seen at a time in the open field on 8 stone. l have seen many of these.
 fly they go up in straight ine-way, way up ever so high; you might think they were never coming down again. And they make a noise at short intervals like peep peep When they descend they alight at the point of starting, just before reaching when they emit harsh and peculiar noise."
 "That's the night-hawk," :" said listener when the informant had departed 'He goes up just like that on the edge of the evening, makes just the same noise, and when he comes down is just as harshly e1- pressiye. sThat;s 5iIe night-hawk exactly"
 The night hawk and whippoorwill are all lied and resemble each other in size. The whippoorwi1l is ten inches long; the hawk nine. They fly at the same dusky hours and are frequently heard in the morning; and save for the difference in their cries and methods of flight might be easily confound- ed. The whippoorwin is supposed to sing from the alder bushes generally, the dense growth of which is congenlal; and not neces- sarily from woods on low and 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 stepping-stone before a much-used door on the north side of the house. The family were very careful not to alarm him, that they might watch him when the moon rose.