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Folklife Fridays: Whippoorwills




Have you ever seen one?



Most Southerners born before air-conditioning shut off the world fell asleep to their plaintive cries.



They nest on the ground, sleeping during the day. From dusk to dawn, they use their superior vision to find and devour flying insects, repeating their name between bites.



They are the stuff of folklore. American Indian legend says their song was a death omen. Their habit of flying near cows and goats in search of insects caused them to be called "milk suckers".



My daddy would sit on the porch in the early spring and listen for the first whippoorwill's call. He said that it was safe to plant cotton without fear of frost killing the seedlings after the whippoorwills started singing. Because their breeding habits correspond with certain phases of the moon, he was most likely correct.



Somehow, the call makes us lonely, and has become a symbol for melancholy. Hank Williams mentioned the whippoorwill in his song, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." Dolly Parton, Randy Travis, and others frequently use the emotion-evoking whippoorwill in their songs.

Sadly, they are not as common as they once were, due to loss of habitat and insecticides.

I have never seen one except in photos, but they are as much as part of my youth as blackberries and jumping-jacks.

I listen for them now, standing on the deck, trying to block the noise pollution of sirens and traffic and planes. On those nights when I am blessed and able to separate what is made by man and what is made by God, I hear them.

Those nights are precious.
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Comments

  1. KimMay 7, 2010 at 9:59 AM

    I had never seen one, though I've heard them all my life - thanks for the photo!

    ReplyDelete
  2. jessicaAugust 29, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    Have you ever heard anything about the first cry of the whippoorwill meaning that summer was going to end sooner or later? My mother in law asked me and so far I can't seem to find anything about it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. BelleMay 4, 2012 at 8:55 PM

    We have had a whippoorwill in our yard for the last four days or so. It starts singing at dark and sings all night long. I remember as a child sitting on the porch after dark with my Pap listening to nature and to whippoorwills. I have always loved hearing them. I am so thankful I live out in the country and can still hear nature. We were just getting ready to bushhog the pasture and now after reading that they hatch their eggs on the ground, I'm afraid to do that. Maybe we can not do the section next to the trees where I have heard the bird singing. Thanks for your article.

    ReplyDelete

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