found near Lima, 635 



structure is ever used to clear from the mouth the hooked 

 claws of coleoptera, 8cc. ; but, I think, without sufficient reason, 

 for the beetles might hitch to the rictus as easily as to the 

 vibrissas, and more so. Mr. Mathews's account of its habits 

 is interesting, and in these it resembles very closely the com- 

 mon species of this country; but one curious circumstance is 

 mentioned, that of its laying but one egg, which, should it 

 prove to be invariably the case, would be a remarkable 

 anomaly in the genus. I wish that its note had been de- 

 scribed." 



To complete our account of the specimen of Caprimulgus 

 sent by Mr. Mathews, we add a technical description of it, 

 which the ornithologist first alluded to above has supplied. 



Length, from the point of the beak to the end of the tail, 

 8J in. ; from the point of the beak to the gape (rictus), seven 

 eighths of an inch ; width of mouth across, 1 in. The whole 

 of the upper surface of the back, a speckled ash grey, marked 

 on the top of the head with dashes of black and streaks of 

 the same colour on the back. The general colour of the 

 upper surface of the wings rather lighter than that of the 

 back, beautifully mottled, and various feathers distinctly 

 marked with black at their bases, and yellow at their points. 

 The primaries black, dusky towards the tips, with a minute 

 edging of white. The bird was a male ; and the first four 

 primaries are marked with an oval spot of white which per- 

 vades both webs. The wing, from the point of the shoulder 

 to the end of the second primary, which is the longest, mea- 

 sures 6 1 in. The two centre tail feathers are of the same 

 speckled ash-grey colour as tlie back, but are barred ob- 

 liquely with black ; and, when the tail was closed, these two 

 feathers hid all the others : the outer, four on each side, are 

 mottled over their proximal half [the half nearer the body] 

 with black and white ; the distal half [the half farther from 

 the body], black, with the sexual white spot in the centre of 

 the black, extending over both webs. The chin freckled 

 with reddish brown and black. The throat white ; this 

 colour extending on both sides to the space behind the open- 

 ing of the ear. The whole of the under surface of the body 

 and the wings pale rufous brown, transversely barred with 

 dusky black. The under surface of the tail primaries alter- 

 nately barred with black and white. The bird, in smallness 

 of size, as well as in the want of vibrissas on each side of the 

 beak, resembles the swallows ; but in every other respect is 

 a perfect Caprimulgus, and has the middle toes nearly as 

 long again as the outer ones, with the claw broad and strongly 

 pectinated. 



