THE NIGHTJAR 375 



later put beyond all doubt by Dr. Heinroth, who in 1000 published a 

 photograph of a young bird being fed by its parent in the way 

 described. 1 



When wanting to be fed, the young come from under the parent, 

 turn, rise, and touch or seize it* beak. If the old bird is not prepared 

 to feed them, it may simply ignore these hints, in which cane the 

 young retire disappointed, or, if worried, it may lift the head, some- 

 times lifting a chick at the same time, so that its little body is seen 

 dangling for a moment in the air. When wanting to give food, the 

 parent utters a crooning note, which serves as a summons. It may 

 be hoard uttering the same in the intervals of feeding a sort of 

 purring of content'*' 



Dr. Heinroth relates that the young indulge in a curious form of 



-Tr, till.; ;im<Ml_: thrlllM-lxcv .r. -a -K Mia ll\ ;tU< UM'd l>\ thrill In thr 



parents. They run to one another with neck and wings stretched 

 upward, the body being held horizontal. This, he says, it confined to 

 the young. In so far, at least, as the raising of the wings is concerned, 

 this does not seem to be the case, for, according to Liebe, the old 

 bird, when about to feed the young, may be seen approaching them 

 with wings upraised and quivering.' The same is recorded of an 

 American nighthawk* This bird fed its young on fireflies, and as it 

 moved forward through the dusk, its great mouth seemed all aglow 

 each time it opened it to utter its harsh call-note. 4 



Another of Dr. Heinroth's discoveries was that the nightjar mL lit 

 have a second brood in the same season. His tame pair hatched out 

 their first two young on June 20 and 21. On the 3rd and 5th of July 

 two eggs were laid in the same nest, that is, when the young of the 

 first brood were not a fortnight old. The second brood was hatched 

 after eighteen days, during which time the older chicks were fed by 

 the male parent They continued to be fed after the birth of the 



1 Journal filr OrnitJtologif, 1000, 28. Mr. Seloua' observations will be found in full in the 

 Zoologist, 1800, and in Bird Ltft Olimptft, chapter ii. 



1 Heinroth. Seloiw, op. cit * Naiimann, Vogtl UitfcUuroptu, iv. 251. 



4 Herrick, Home Life of Wild Bird*, p. 82. 



