32 HAUNT OF THE EVEJAR 

 it was warm and feathery, its wings fluttered 

 feebly. The nightjars, called of olden time 

 goatsuckers, on account of a wide gape 

 and owl-like eyes, had returned to the land 

 for their yearly nuptials. 



There were hundreds of them on the 

 shore. All were too weak to move. I was 

 filled with a great tenderness for them; 

 they showed no fear; I liked to think they 

 knew I would not harm them. The night 

 went on; an owl bayed on the gorse slopes 

 behind. Soon they left, with flapping flight, 

 sometimes hopping. Towards dawn the 

 valley and the hills were filled with their 

 notes rising and falling like the whirring 

 of a spinning wheel, the love song of the 

 evejar. 



The bee-swallow, as the nightjar is also 

 called, pairs for life. It is a faithful idealist, 

 like the owl, the falcon, and the long- 

 tailed titmouse. It feeds on moths and 

 chafer-beetles; and lays two eggs among 

 the bracken. 



