TOO BIRDS or AUSTRAIJA. 



of the throat an obhque hne of white ; chest dark brown, 

 each feather broadly barred and spotted with Hght buff; ab- 

 domen bright buff, finely and irregularly barred with black; 

 under tail-coverts sandy ; bill black ; irides very dark brown ; 

 feet mealy reddish brown. 



Genus CAPRIMULGUS, Linnam. 



Europe, Asia, and Africa are the great strongholds of the 

 members of this genus as at present restricted. A single 

 species only has yet been discovered in Australia, where it 

 frequents the northern or intertropical parts of the country. 



Sp. 50. CAPRIMULGUS MACRURUS, Horsjield. 



Large-tailed Nightjar. 

 Caprimulgvs macrnrus, Hovsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 142. 



Caprimul^s macmrus, Gould, Birds of Australia, foL, vol. ii. pi. 9 



This, the only true Caprimulgus known to inhabit Australia, 

 is I believe identical with the C. macmrus of Horsfield, whose 

 specimens were procured in Java, while those I possess 

 were obtained at Port Essington, where the bird is moderately 

 plentiful ; it is also found in Southern India, hence it has an 

 unusually wide range of habitat. It frequents the open parts 

 of the forest, and is strictly nocturnal ; it mostly rests on the 

 ground on the shady side of a large tree close to the roots, 

 and if disturbed several times in succession takes to the 

 branch of one of the largest trees. I have never seen the 

 eggs of this species, but I possess a young bird apparently 

 only a few days old, which Gilbert found lying under a 

 shrubby tree, without any nest or even a blade of grass near 

 it ; the little creature was so similar in colour to that of the 

 ground upon which it was lying, that it was witli difficulty 

 detected, and he was only induced to search for it from 



