DIY Homeschooler

Plate 23: Whippoorwill

Very useful ‘animated insect trap’ with a monotonous and recognizable call.

Antrostomus vociferus

The Whip-poor-will is never seen flying high in the sky, and the absence of white spots in the wings always distinguishes it from the Nighthawk. To find the Whip-poor-will one must go to the deep woods where, in a quiet tangle of ferns and bushes, a dark brown, silent-winged creature may fly from the leaves, to flutter a few rods farther on, and drop again to the ground. The well-known song which is given with such constancy and fervor on spring and summer nights may be written chuck, whip-poor-wee-ah, chuck, whip-poor-wee-ah. Sometimes the song is repeated two hundred times or more without cessation.

An Introduction to the Birds of Pennsylvania

Suggestions

• Print out the notebooking pages provided below.
• Read the Whip-poor-will story in Bird Biographies out loud.
• Have a younger student orally narrate what was read. He can then copy a few lines of his narration onto the notebooking pages.
• Older students can read the text, Plate XXIII: Whippoorwill, and provide a written narration.
• Sketch the bird. This encourages attention to detail, which will aid in identifying the bird later on. Another option is to use the printables provided below.
• Sketch the nest of the bird, along with the eggs. Note where the nest is usually found.
• Older students can include the taxonomy.
• Learn more about the Whip-poor-will at Cornell.
• On one notebooking page note the facts:
  • Description.
  • Habitat.
  • Range.
  • Food.
  • Nest.
  • Eggs.
  • Call.
• The Whippoorwill is covered in The Burgess Bird Book: CHAPTER XXIII. Some Big Mouths.

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Additional Resources

30 Narration Ideas
At some point you might appreciate some variety.

The Bird Study sections of our free nature study series: Our Wonderful World:

• Free Nature Studies: Hunting Birds With Eyes & Camera
• Free Nature Studies: Bird Guardians (Owls)
• Free Nature Studies: Landlord to the Birds

Printables & Notebooking Pages

Whippoorwill Notebooking Pages
Free simple notebooking set.

Whippoorwill
Bird picture for notebook.

Whip-poor-will Range Map
For notebook from Cornell.

Bird Facts Notebooking Page
One option in a more graphic organizer style that is especially nice for noting the facts and range.

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Enjoy the entire series: