i 4 o OUR RARER BIRDS 



safety on the wonderful way in which her mottled brown 

 plumage harmonises with the russets and browns and grays 

 of surrounding vegetation. The eggs too are very protective 

 in colour, and require sharp eyes to find them as they lie so 

 exposed on the bare ground. The Nightjar only rears one 

 brood' in the season, but if her eggs are taken, she will lay 

 again usually not far away from where her first two were 

 deposited ; but the second time she generally only lays one. 

 Sometimes the sitting-bird feigns lameness when flushed from 

 her eggs, and reels and tumbles along the ground trying to 

 draw all attention away from her treasures. The young, as 

 soon as they are fledged, also exhibit considerable cunning, 

 hiding themselves amongst the moss and herbage at the 

 approach of danger. They are fed and tended by their 

 parents for some time after they are able to fly, and may often 

 be seen sitting on the branches, or even on a wall, waiting 

 for the old birds to bring them food. 



The Nightjars disappear in autumn as suddenly and as 

 quietly as they appeared in early summer. Previous to their 

 departure they are silent, and they migrate at night to their 

 distant quarters in the oases of Northern Africa. 



