I yo Clark, Pte tylosis of Podargus aytd theCaprimulgi. f April 



to the Striges and not very distantly either." This intermediate 

 position of Antrostomus and Podargus will be made more evident 

 by the following table (Table A) in which the characters of these 

 two genera are contrasted with those of the other North American 

 Caprimulgi and the Owls. The characters in which all these 

 groups agree, as the absence of down, the aquincubital wing, etc., 

 have purposely been omitted from this table. 



It will readily be seen that with the exception of the sternal 

 tracts and the number of primaries, no sharp line can be drawn 

 pterylographically between the Caprimulgi and the Striges, Antro- 

 stomus and Podargus furnishing just such intermediate characters 

 as might be expected from their size and habits. As there are 

 still many interesting genera to be examined, even these two dif- 

 ferences may prove to be inconstant, and the accumulated evidence 

 thus confirms the view that Goatsuckers and Owls are near rela- 

 tives. 



Nitzsch says that the pterylography of the Caprimulgidae is very 

 close to that of Cypselus but he must have expected to find a re- 

 semblance or it never would have occurred to him. Thanks again 

 to Mr. Lucas, I have had the opportunity of examining the ptery- 

 lography of ten species of Swifts. The different genera resemble 

 each other very closely but I find very few important resemblances 

 between the Cypseli and Caprimulgi and some striking differ- 

 ences. Indeed the general pattern of the pterylosis is strikingly 

 different and there seems to be no connecting links. The con- 

 trast will be made clear by the table (Table B). 



A full report on the pterylography of the swifts is in prepara- 

 tion ; the only reason for referring to it here is to emphasize the 

 fact that the nearest relatives of the Caprimulgi are not to be sought 

 among the so-called Cypseliformes or Macrochires, but much more 

 probably among the nocturnal birds of prey. 



