Ornithology of the Egyptian Soudan. 'M7 



except by forcibly bending the shaft. The long feathers 

 seem to be purely sexual adornments of the male, and to 

 have no mimetic purpose at all. 



Captain Boyd Alexander {' Ibis,' 1902, p. 358), writing of 

 this species on the Gold Coast, says : " The males in courting 

 bring forward their long wing-pinions until they droop 

 towards the hen." I am convinced that this is done by the 

 whole wing being turned upwards and forwards until the 

 higher setting of the racquet-feathers and the weight of the 

 webs cause them to droop forwards as described, without 

 their having any independent movement. In a letter re- 

 plying to this suggestion, Captain Alexander seems to incline 

 to the same opinion. 



I have written at some length on this point, as this strange 

 and beautiful Nightjar has always had a fascinating interest 

 for me, and it is becoming common to see cited as instances 

 of protective mimicry fancied resemblances which are, at 

 least, calculated to raise a smile among field-naturalists. 



The " standard " feathers of this bird are a favourite hair- 

 ornament of the Shilluk warriors of the White Nile, and 

 very fantastic the feathers look, bending and nodding over 

 the heads of these naked six-foot-spearmen. 



Mr. Hawker obtained an egg on the White Nile in May ; 

 while an officer of the Egyptian army told me that he had 

 seen eggs at Roseires in October and November. 



The measurements of my finest specimen may be worth 

 recording : Length (to end of central rectrices) 223 mm. ; 

 wing 180; bill at gape 26; tail 95 ; tarsus 18; total length 

 of standard quill 550; length of web of ditto 175; greatest 

 breadth of web 72. 



139. Scotornis climacurus (Vieill.). 



a. <$ . Kamlin, Blue Nile, March 31, 1901. 



The beautiful little Long-tailed Nightjar seems to be the 

 most abundant of the Caprimulgidae in the Soudan. It is 

 common as far north as Shendi, east to the Abyssinian 

 frontier, and south to the Bahr-el-Ghazal. On the red- 

 sand country of Western Kordofan I did not meet with it. 



