This Whip-poor-will is not the most unusual bird I have seen in my yard, but it is definitely the most unusual I have photographed. How often do you get to see one of these birds? In the past we heard them often around our place on summer nights, but seldom saw them. This one, along with another, was sitting in the gravels in our driveway one September night as we pulled in. When I saw them in the headlights I stopped, turned off the vehicle, but left the vehicle with lights on, sneaked outside, went back down the driveway, crossed our field until I was far enough away to sneak past the birds and into the house where I could get to my camera. I then reversed the whole process and got the following photo (attached). The birds didn't fly when the flash went off, so I got several shots. Notice the bristles between the beak and the eye. They probably serve the same purpose as a cat's whiskers, allowing the bird to know when it encounters objects in the dark since it often roosts on the ground. Roger Mayhorn Compton Mt
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