384. CAPRIMULGIDA. 
Birds, ii. p. 410°; Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1879, p. 531°; Nutting, Pr. U.S. Nat. Mus. vi. 
p. 875"; Ridgway, Man. N. Am. Birds, p. 298”. 
Supra saturate nigricans, fulvo minute irroratus; capite summo et dorso striis elongatis nigris ornatis, scapu- 
laribus quoque nigro striatis et maculis fulvis notatis, torque cervicali plumis medialiter pallide cervinis 
composita ; alis nigricantibus, maculis irregularibus rufis in pogonio externo subrotundatis, in pogonio 
interno transversim elongatis, nigro interruptis: subtus quoque fulvo irroratus et fasciatus, gula regulariter 
nigro transfasciata, torque cervicali isabellino plumis singulis nigro terminatis, pectore sparsim nigro 
sagittato, hypochondriis isabellino guttatis, tectricibus subcaudalibus fulvis nigro transfasciatis; cauda 
supra nigro et fulvo irrorata, rectricibus duabus mediis nigro indistincte sed regulariter transfasciatis, 
rectricibus utrinque tribus externis in pogonio interno (rhachide inclusa) plaga magna, fere ad apicem 
extensa, supra nivea, infra fulva notatis. Setis rictalibus filamentis lateralibus instructis. Long. tota 
circa 12-0, ale 8°5, caude 5:5, tarsi 0°8, dig. med. cum ungue 1*1. (Descr. maris ex Costa Rica. Mus. 
nostr.) 
mari similis, maculis magnis caudalibus absentibus. 
Hab. North America, Atlantic and Gulf States 1.—Mexico, Nuevo Leon (Ff. B. 
Armstrong *), Sierra de Santo Domingo in Tehuantepec (W. B. Richardson *). 
—GouatemaLa, Duefas (0. S. & F. D. G.*); Nicaragua, San Juan del Sur 
(Nutting #°); Costa Rica (Endres?), Guadelupe (v. Hrantzius"), Las Cruces de 
Candelaria (Zeledon®7); Panama, Volcan de Chiriqui. (Arcé >), — CotomBia 9; 
ANTILLES °. 
This Goatsucker is the oldest known of its kind in North America. Though not fully 
recognized as distinct from Caprimulgus europeus by Linneus it figures in Catesby’s 
work, and now passes under Gmelin’s title of Caprimulgus carolinensis *. 
The South Atlantic and Gulf States and the Lower Mississippi Valley are the 
summer residence of this species, its northern extension reaching, according to 
Mr. Ridgway “, to North Carolina and Southern Illinois. Its migration southward 
commences in August §, and in the winter months it has been traced to several of the 
West Indian Islands, to Mexico and Central America, and as far south as Northern 
Colombia. The return journey northwards begins in March®. The eggs are laid 
on the bare ground amongst leaves in the darker thickets of the woods. As usual in 
this family, two is the full complement of eggs; their shape is oval, the ground- 
colour white, and they are more or less spotted with blotches of various sizes of dark 
purplish-brown, mixed with grayish-lavender, with occasional marks of raw-umber 
brown ®. 
In Mexico and Central America C. carolinensis is apparently by no means common, 
as but few specimens have reached us. ‘This is probably due to its nocturnal habits 
and the silence maintained during the winter season. 
* We have no doubt Catesby (Car. i. t. 8) intended to give an accurate figure of his Carolina Goatsucker, 
but it may be remarked that he represents the wing with large white spots as in Ohordeiles virginianus, a 
feature not possessed by any North-American species of Caprimulgus! Moreover, Latham, Brisson, and Gmelin 
all refer to these white spots; but Pennant (Arct. Zool. i. p. 133. no. 336), though referring to Catesby, gives 
an accurate description of the bird we now call C. carolinensis, omitting all mention of the white wing-spots. 
