TIN-: NK.HT.I \i; 



the room, smiting his wings with resounding force above his hack, 

 ni'irr which he would float awhile, his wings upraised and spread, 

 his tail broad fannrd. and so descend to his mate. 



In the wild state this nuptial flight has of course greater scope. 

 The male may then be seen floating down toward his mate in grace- 

 ful curving flight, 1 or gyrating wildly round her in the air, smiting 

 his wings with loud claps. 



When about to smite the wings, the nightjar slackens his pace, 

 gives a kind of leap in the air, at the same time straightening 

 the wings, MM! striking the backs of them together.* This he may 

 do several times in rapid succession. Both sexes are said to clap 

 their wings when hawking for insects,* and the male has been seen 

 to do so when alarmed. 4 Both sexes, again, perform the curious 

 lateral movements of the tail above described. This they were ob- 

 served by Mr. & Selous to do in the wild state before changing places 

 on the nest. 6 Here the movements seemed to serve as a form of 

 greeting ; the birds wagged their tails because they were pleased, 

 just as a dog wags his. 



The nightjar's well-known churring or jarring song is another of 

 his ways of manifesting his love. It is composed of two notes, 

 which alternate, one being in a lower key than the other. The lower 

 is said by Naumann to be uttered when the breath is inhaled, the 

 higher when it is exhaled." The sound has been compared to the 

 spinning of a wheel, the tearing of calico, and the rattling of a 

 mowing-machine. It is uttered on a tree, often the topmost perch, 

 or on the ground, and may be begun in the air before the bird alights, 

 and finished after it has taken wing. It may be followed by other 

 notes, which are difficult to describe. While the bird is churring, its 

 under mandible vibrates, the upper less. The beak is almost closed, 



1 Umber and Warren, Birds of In html, p. lOi 



* Cf. U usher and Warren, toe. cit. 



' Zoologist, 1900. 888-402. Note under date July 1 (E. Selons). 

 4 K. Selous, Bird Lift Ulimptu, p. 87. 



Zoologist, loc. cit. V6gtl Mitleleuroptu, IT. 240. 



