Karen Raines, age 21, of Charleston, L~T. Virginia, or her question:

What kind of bird is the whippoorwill?

When you hear a bird call Whip Poor Will, Whip Poor Will, you know that he is around. Chances are, all you see of him is a dusky shadow, swooping around through the evening air. His dark brown speckled feathers are softer than soft and his color scheme blends in with the dim light. His shadowy wings beat silently and all you hear is the strange call that repeats and repeats the whippoorwill's name.

During the day, he dozes in the woods, often crouched on fallen leaves that match his speckled feathers. After sundown he flies forth to dine on moths, gnats and other insects that throng in the air. Ile has a very large mouth and a few whiskery feathers that look like a moustache. When out for dinner, he flies around with his big mouth wide open to catch insects on the wing. Every night the shy whippoorwill fills his tummy with pesky insects, which makes him one of our secret friends.