. Our own birds : a familiar natural history of the birds of the United States . hey were thesame. The Whip-poor-will is strictly a nocturnalbird, never appearing abroad by daylight except whenforced by circumstances; but no sooner has the sundisappeared behind the western hills, and the shadesof evening have closed around the thicket whichgives it cover by day, than it bestirs itself, and peepsout upon the dim landscape over which the pale moonis castinix a feeble glare. It is then that its sweet THE CHUCK-WILLS-WIDOW. 115 and sprightly notes are heard echoing upon the stillair, Whip-poor-wil
. Our own birds : a familiar natural history of the birds of the United States . hey were thesame. The Whip-poor-will is strictly a nocturnalbird, never appearing abroad by daylight except whenforced by circumstances; but no sooner has the sundisappeared behind the western hills, and the shadesof evening have closed around the thicket whichgives it cover by day, than it bestirs itself, and peepsout upon the dim landscape over which the pale moonis castinix a feeble glare. It is then that its sweet THE CHUCK-WILLS-WIDOW. 115 and sprightly notes are heard echoing upon the stillair, Whip-poor-will! whip-poor-will! repeated inrapid succession for some minutes together. Thenwith a few wild sweeps through the air upon its noise-less wing, in pursuit of its insect prey, it alighte per-haps upon the fence or wood-pile, or even upon theroof of the house, and again utters its soft but clearcry with great animation. Those who have listenedto the song of this bird, flowing like a liquid streamof melody, can alone judge of the soothing andquieting influence which it Chuck-wills-widow. The habits of the Chuck-wills-widow are very sim-ilar to those of the Whip-poor-will, and are equallyinteresting. In the pine forests of South Carolina it 116 INSESSORES. is abundant, where its familiar and oft-repeated cryof Chuck-wills-widow! is kept up during a greatpart of the night. It is impossible to find languageto convey a just idea of the impression which thenotes of this bird produce upon the mind. Imagineourselves in the midst of a southern forest; tall pines,interspersed with oaks and other forest trees, occupythe ground for many miles around, covering it witha broad canopy of shade, with here and there a wideopening vista, through which the light may sultry air is beginning to feel the cooling effectsof the falling dew, — the sun has long since sunk tohis rest, — the tree-tops wave gently in the twilightgale,—the feathered songsters that have tenanted t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1879
