OOO 



THE EUROPEAN GOATSUCKER. 



The Field, May 12th, 1888, says :— 



"A writer in the Pall Mall Gazette carefully discriminates the three 

 distinct and totally dissimilar notes of the night-jar, but Yarrell only 

 mentions two of these ; and although the bird frequents a field in front of 

 our house every summer, we only know the curious burring noise and the 

 singular crack like that of a whip. The third is uttered when two night- 

 jars are perched each on a separate gable of the house ; suddenly, first one, 

 then the other flies off with a loud flapping noise, caused by striking the 

 wings together over the back. They sink slowly down with outspread 

 wings, and alight upon the gravel under my window. They bow and sidle 

 to each other, and then is heard a long-drawn and very musical bubbling 

 note or trill, which dies away into silence. I had often heard this sound in 

 the distance, and been puzzled by it, never dreaming that an amorous 

 night-jar could produce any note so soft and liquid." 



It is about the size of the missel thrush, but having longer 

 wings and tail, and more full downy plumage. The body is not 

 larger than that of the mavis. The wings are very long and 

 narrow, reaching to about an inch of the long tail, which, 

 unlike the swallows' and swifts', is much rounded — the middle 

 feathers an inch longer than the side ones. 



The general colour of the upper parts is ash-grey, minutely 

 dotted, and undulated with umber, variegated with brownish 

 black and pale yellowish red. The head and back are marked 

 with streaks of dark brown. The quills and tail are similar. 

 On the inner webs of the three primary quills of the males 

 there is a large white spot. The two outside tail feathers have 

 also a large patch of white at the end. The bill and claws are 

 dusky ; the feet, flesh-coloured ; iris, brown. The mouth is very 

 wide — more than an inch across — but the tongue is extremely 

 small. The bill is also very small, and weaker than that of any 

 other British bird. The head is broad and depressed ; the roof 

 of the mouth nearly flat. The eyes are very large — their 

 aperture five-twelfths of an inch, and that of the ear half an inch 

 long. The bristles of the mouth are black, and three-quarters 

 of an inch long. 



Length of the male to end of tail, 1 1 inches ; extent of 

 wings, 23 ; wing, 7-f ; tail, 5| ; tarsus, only three-quarters of 

 an inch long. The female is about an inch smaller ; similar in 

 colour, but without the white spots on the wings and tail. So 

 far as I know, the bird is now rarely met with in Fife — at least 

 near St Andrews. When fledged, the young are like the 

 female, but darker, and the markings larger. In this state they 

 resemble young cuckoos, for which they are sometimes mis- 

 taken ; but the long serrated claw distinguishes them — 

 regarding the use of which claw nothing is yet definitely 



