Guest
“Folklore and Legends of the bird know as the WHIPPOORWILL“ 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 whippoorw
