Page:Bird-lore Vol 08.djvu/114

 84 Bird- Lore My companion had been in this locality the day before and had stumbled, as he put it, upon the nest of a Whip-poor-will. The place had been marked by the breaking of twigs along the line of easiest approach, and now we were back, armed with camera and plates, to spend the day. Bfe i yrrr fife*' ' "^#^r-^^#iJ ilEi WHIP-POOR-WILL ON NEST Carefully we crept up the hill, intent upon avoiding the noise of crackling twigs and keeping our way. Our destination was at last reached, but where was the nest ? All that could be seen besides the underbrush were dead leaves and branches. Only the keenest search revealed it. Not twenty feet away sat the old bird on her eggs. Motionless as the brown leaves around her, she showed confident faith in her resemblance to surroundings for concealment. We were allowed to come almost within an arm's length before she gave any indication of life, and it was no wonder that my friend first found her by "stumbling" over her. If we had not stopped to focus our cameras she would probably have allowed us to walk by. However, our method of becoming acquainted through the camera must have seemed questionable, or at least have been bad taste with the goatsucker family, for she quietly slipped off into the bushes, uttering no other protest than a low, gutteral chuck. The nest — a little hollow in last year's leaves — contained two creamy white eggs thickly blotched with delicate shades of brown and lavender. While the old bird sat on a log near by, I photographed the eggs and then placed the camera as near as was advisable to the nest ; using the long tube, I retired with the bulb to a partially hidden nook to await her return. In a few moments she came back to within ten feet, but, seeing that there was still something unusual about the landscape, she squatted length-