On a recent trip to Columbia, South Carolina, long after the sun had set, I heard a bird song I never hear in California. It was unmistakable. It was the song of the whip-poor-will. According to Wikipedia, “The Eastern Whip-poor-will is a medium-sized nightjar from North America. The whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its range, but less often seen because of its superior camouflage. It is named onomatopoeically after its song.”
I love unusual words and to have whip-poor-will, nightjar, camouflage and onomatopoeically all used in one paragraph…well it is word heaven.
If you haven’t heard a whip-poor-will recently (or ever), the attached link will refresh your memory. Click on www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIxfVSS_65o.
According to the Audubon website, the Eastern Whip-poor-will is climate-endangered possibly due to scarcity of its food supply of moths and beetles. They also noted that their song may seem to go on endlessly; a patient observer once counted 1,088 whip-poor-wills given rapidly without a break. That certainly was one patient person.
