xxx TAILS AND WINGS AS NUPTIAL LIVERY 385 



when the bird flies. In favourable localities a dozen 

 pennant-winged nightjars may be seen in the air 

 together ; they then resemble " tattered pieces of paper 

 blown about by the wind." (\Voosnani.) 



The legs of nightjars are so short that the progress of 

 these birds along the ground is little more than a 

 shuffle. Their feet present other unusual features. The 

 fourth or outer toe has only four phalanges instead 

 of five and the claw of the middle toe is serrated. 



The long-tailed African dove (CEna capensis). It is scarcely 

 larger than a wagtail and abounds in Eastern Ethiopia. 



Nightjars are said to use this pectinated claw to detach 

 the hooked claws and chitinous wings of insects on 

 which they feed from the bristle-like feathers which 

 fringe their mouths. 



As in the case of other crepuscular birds, nightjars 

 are occasionally seen flying at dawn. The scissor-bill, 

 from which the drawing on p. 350 was made, I shot at 

 sunrise. 



The tails of birds and beasts are often used by the 

 natives for personal adornment and use. Although the 



