BRITISH BIRDS. 'jy 



to be trodden on before she attempts to escape. When 

 thus suddenly rising, she is ahnost always taken for a 

 cuckoo ; hence the story, credited in quarters where one 

 might have looked for more enlightenment, that that usur- 

 per of other birds' nests occasionally incubates her own 

 eggs, which, needless to say, is a mistake. 



The food of the night-jar consists of insects of all kinds, 

 and no doubt an occasional little bird, such as a wren, 

 or a regulus, or even a tit, it" such venture abroad 

 before the goat-sucker (what a ridiculous appellation ! ) 

 has retired for the day ; and as it is an especial foe 

 to the cockchafer and the goat moth {Cossa ligniperdcx) 

 it should receive all possible protection, and its murder, 

 as well as the abstraction of its eggs, be severely punished. 



The night-jar has one remarkable peculiarity, namelj', 

 that of not perching on a branch in the fashion common 

 to most birds, but of resting lengthwise upon it, so as 

 more effectually to conceal its presence from any lurking 

 foe beneath. Length, about \^\ or 11 inches, of which 

 the tail measures at least a third. It cannot be preserved 

 in confinement for more than a month or two. Migratory. 



THE WOODPECKERS. 



These birds are the subject of much misapprehension in 

 many quarters, which in the following paragraphs it will 

 be our purpose to try and dispel. 



Fam i 1 y — Picidcc. 



Genus — 1. Dendrocopiis. D. majo7\ Greater Spotted 



Woodpecker. 

 D. minor. Lesser Spotted 

 Woodpecker. 

 2. Gecinus. G. aiiratus. Green Wood- 



pecker. 



