Plate 82 – Whip-poor-will

In the fall of 1813, John James Audubon set out for Louisville, Kentucky, from his home in Henderson to seek opportunities for operating a trade business to support him and his family. The route along the Ohio River from Henderson to Louisville includes crossing the barrens of Kentucky (see Plate 14). Of the birds that Audubon took special note was the Whip-poor-will, whose song a “Description is incapable of conveying to your mind any accurate idea of the notes of this bird, much less the feelings which they excite.” Although based on the numbers that Audubon reported, it should be much more difficult today to hear the notes of the Whip-poor-will. “The Whip-poor-will continues its lively song for several hours after sunset, and then remains silent until the first dawn of day, when its notes echo through every vale, and along the declivites [sic] of the mountains, until the beams of the rising sun scatter the darkness that overhung the face of nature. Hundreds are often heard at the same time in different parts of the woods, each trying to out-do the others.” According to Cornell’s e-Bird system, the most Whip-poor-wills (known today as the Eastern Whip-Poor-Will) that have been reported in the lower 48 United States is 89. The count was submitted by the Maryland Ornithological Society on May 15, 2000 (see eBird Checklist S45455637).