NIGHTJARS 143 



these insects have something to do with the visits of the 

 Cccrois to the house at La Prision ? 



These dirty yards surrounding the houses, frequented 

 by butterflies during the day, were also the favourite 

 hunting grounds after dark of nightjars, which are 

 common on the Caura. They used to be particularly 

 noisy on bright moonlight nights. Two of them had 

 taken possession of the open space around the houses, and 

 they would return night after night, one appropriating 

 the part in front of our quarters, the other occupying 

 the yard at the back of the kitchen. There they spent 

 the night quite close to the houses, uttering at intervals 

 their loud and discordant notes. With the approach of 

 daylight they went away. The nightjar is called in 

 Venezuela Aguaitacaviino — the watchman of the roads — 

 on account of its habit of frequenting the paths after 

 sunset. At Panama, where it is plentiful in the open 

 savannas, the natives call it Bohio in imitation of its cry. 

 These nightjars spend the hours between sunrise and sun- 

 set sitting close to the ground, generally in low scrub. On 

 the Caura they are in the habit of passing the day upon the 

 lajas and islands in the rapids. Squatted on the dark 

 rock of which they seem to form part, it is most difficult 

 to distinguish them. When disturbed they flit a short 

 distance away and then drop suddenly on to some spot 

 where they remain perfectly motionless, trusting to the 

 strong resemblance they bear to their surroundings to 

 escape detection. Closely allied to this smaller species, 

 but very much rarer, is the large wood-nightjar. The 

 plaintive wail (it can scarcely be called anything else) of 

 this bird at dead of night would startle anyone unac- 

 quainted with its origin. The hunters and woodcutters of 

 both Venezuela and Trinidad, with but very few excep- 



