"He has a brother called the Whip-poor-will, that we should meet very soon."
The Nighthawk
Length ten inches.
Mottled black and rusty above. Barred on the under parts with black and white or buff. A white collar on the throat, a white spot going entirely through the wing, and a white band across the tail.
A Summer Citizen of eastern North America, from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada, travelling far south for the winter.
A shy neighbor but a valuable Citizen, belonging to the Ground Gleaners as well as Sky Sweepers.
THE WHIP-POOR-WILL
"This mysterious bird is also a dweller in lonely places, feeding at night in the woods, having no nest, and laying the eggs in a hollow in the ground or on a stump or log. He is so nearly of the color of wood, earth, and rock, that you may pass near him a hundred times and never see him. Then too, when he perches in the day-time, he does not sit across a branch like other birds, but lengthwise, so that House People and cats cannot see him from below or cannibal birds from above. He is an insect-eater and so goes southward before hard frosts."
"Does this bird make any noise, and why is he called the Whip-poor-will?" asked Nat; "that is such a funny name."
Rap was about to answer when the Doctor signed to him and he stopped.