202 love's meinie. 



the local epithet ' European/ and other neces- 

 sary ones, of varieties, to be retained for the 

 second or specific term. Nacht-schade, Night- 

 loss, the popular German name, perhaps really 

 still refers to this supposed nocturnal thiev- 

 ing; or may have fallen euphonious from 

 Nacht-schwalbe, which in some places abides. 

 ' Crapaud-volant ' is ugly, but descriptive, the 

 brown speckling of the bird being indeed 

 toadlike, though wonderful and beautiful. 

 Bewick has put his utmost skill into it ; and 

 the cut, with the Bittern and White Owl, may 

 perhaps stand otherwise unrivalled by any of 

 his hand. 



Gould's drawing of the bird on its ground 

 nest, or ground contentedly taken for nest, 

 among heath and scarlet-topped lichen, is 

 among the most beautiful in his book; and 

 there are four quite exquisite drawings by 

 Mr. Ford, of African varieties, in Dr. Smith's 

 zoology of South Africa. The one called by 

 the doctor Europaeus seems a greyer and more 

 graceful bird than ours. Natalensis wears a 

 most wonderful dark oak-leaf pattern of cloak. 

 Rufigena, I suppose, blushes herself separate 

 from Ruficollis of Gould? but these foreign 



