212 A. L. Lane 



emitted in the darkness may be the result of disturbed slumber 

 rather than the wakeful activity of most other members of their 

 kindred species in the rail family. 



Sad to relate the snipe seems to be a vanishing species in many 

 localities where its characteristic " drumming *' was always heard 

 about sunset in swampy localities, and after darkness had set 

 in the *' drumming " overhead, or piping call note in the sedges 

 always drew attention to its presence. The harsh cry of the 

 heron is often heard on a summer's night, and where ducks and 

 other waterfowl are numerous, their call notes often indicate mid- 

 night activities. 



The screech of the barn owl sounds weird when close by on a 

 misty night, but familiarity with it has for most of us dispelled 

 its reputed uncanny associations. More fearsome for the super- 

 stitious if heard, and not identified is the human like ** hoo hoo '* 

 of the eagle owl issuing from the shadows of the trees on a still 

 night. The *' churring " of nightjar may be confused with the 

 harsher strain of a cicala when heard at a distance, but this re- 

 markable birdsong is smoother in its tenor, and often proceeded 

 by very characteristic chuckling notes, after the bird has alighted 

 from its moth-like flight on some bare piece of ground to take up 

 its whirring ditty. 



During fine moonlight nights a small feathered songster will 

 sometimes surprise us by a sudden burst of melody, or an amorous 

 dove commence cooing, and more surprising still come these mid- 

 night rehearsals occasionally during the stillness of a very dark 

 night. There is a mystic romanticism for many individuals whose 

 spirits may be said to be in accord with nature, in hearing these 

 nocturnal sounds. Sometimes the cries are easily identified, and 

 the hearer speculates from their locality or moving cadence as to 

 the whereabouts and doings of the species indicated. 



One can follow the courtship of the snipe ; the duck busily feed- 

 ing along the edge of the river or dam; the vigilant watch of the 

 plover on the shore; the wanderings of a hungry jackal; and 

 many details of the activity of the life around us proceeding under 

 the pall of darkness. Then again one hears unfamiliar notes con- 



