File:Our bird friends; containing many things young folks ought to know-and likewise grown-ups (1908) (14752437335).jpg

Identifier: ourbirdfriendsco00burb (find matches)
Title: Our bird friends; containing many things young folks ought to know--and likewise grown-ups
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: Burba, George Francis, 1865-
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: New York, The Outing publishing company

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y like the night hawks whichyou see flying around in the sky about sunset that many peopleget them confused. They are very closely related and theirhabits are much alike, but you will see ten night hawks to onewhip-poor-will. Both have long, well-shaped wings and light bodies coveredwith feathers much softer than most birds have, and they flyswiftly and gracefully. Occasionally you may see one flyinghigh in the air, suddenly take a swoop downward and gowonk as he drops. That is a night hawk. The whip-poor-will sings only at night, and only when theweather is clear. His whole song is made up of his name—whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, repeated overand over in a shrill, piercing voice. One of the funny things about a whip-poor-will is that itdoesnt sit upon a fence or limb like any other bird. It alwayssits lengthwise, while other birds sit cross-wise. The whip-poor-will has a broad, spreading foot with short toes and it doesnot grip a twig or branch as do other birds.
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THE WHIP-POOR-WILL 73 You need not hunt for a whip-poor-wills nest, because youcant find one. They dont make nests. They lay two uglyeggs upon the bare ground and sit upon them until they arehatched—which is about fourteen days. The eggs are nearlyas round as marbles, a dirty greenish white in color and splotchedover with blotches of bluish gray. If a boy gets around where a whip-poor-will is sitting uponher eggs and she comes to the conclusion that he is getting toofriendly with her, she will take the eggs in her mouth—one ata time, of course—and fly over to some other field and putthem on the ground and take up her business of hatching them.They have been known to move their eggs half-a-dozen times.That is one advantage of not having a home—it isnt any troubleto move when things go wrong. And not only will the whip-poor-will move her eggs, but shewill move the young birds the same way if she is disturbed.Her mouth is so large she can pick up one of the young birdswithout inj

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