78 IN A CHESHIRE GARDEN 



round and round the bandstand. She never 

 noticed them there, she said, when the band 

 was not playing, although it was her favourite 

 seat at all times of the day. 



Nightjars are not uncommon on " mosses " 

 in Lancashire, only a mile or so away, and in 

 Cheshire on the Carrington side of War- 

 burton, but they are less frequent just about 

 here. One year, however (1902), a pair 

 evidently had made their nest in the rough 

 tussocky ground which at that time covered 

 the bed of the old river. From the middle of 

 June to the beginning of July we were treated 

 every evening to the full programme of their 

 entertainment, both vocal and acrobatic. 

 Several times one heard little snatches of the 

 " song," even in the middle of the day in 

 fine, hot weather, but nine p.m., sometimes 

 a little earlier, was the usual time for begin- 

 ning. The whirring would go on for an hour 

 at a time, with hardly any cessation, but often 

 varying in tone and volume, now swelling 

 out louder and then sinking again. We 

 often saw the two birds playing about 

 together in the air, one or other of them 

 making what is described as a " whipthong " 

 noise and smiting its wings together like a 

 pigeon. Sometimes when they first settled 

 again after a flight, instead of the loud whir- 

 ring there would be every now and then a 

 soft, liquid, bubbling sound. 



A favourite resting-place was the bare 



