According to most ornithologists, the steady decline in Whip-Poor-Will and the closely related Chuck-Will's-Widow, both native to South-Central Kentucky, have been in steady decline as a result of habitat loss caused by forest fragmentation and development. Even on our protected farm, we hear fewer and fewer of these birds each year. Both species are very shy and often flush at the slightest disturbance, but are difficult to see because they tend to sit on the ground or lengthwise on a branch. I think their loud night-time calls are hypnotic. --Wendy Butler Burt