FAMILY CAPRIMULGHXE ; GOATSUCKER. 451 



furnished with strong lengthened bristles ; and from its interior 

 is secreted a stiff glutinous saliva. The instincts of the Birds 

 are in admirable accordance with these peculiarities of their 

 structure. They come forth in the evening, when the Swallows 

 and Fly-catchers have retired to rest ; and, like the Bats, range 

 with open mouths near the surface of the earth, skimming lightly 

 and rapidly with almost noiseless flight. But whilst the Bats 

 feed especially on the hard-cased insects (such as the nocturnal 

 Beetles, &c), the Goatsuckers especially seek the soft-bodied 

 Moths ; to which, in the downiness of their covering, the sobriety 

 of their colours, and their nocturnal habits, they bear so strong a 

 resemblance. These they engulph in their capacious throats ; 

 the viscidity of the saliva, and the bristles with which the cleft 

 is fenced, being sufficient to prevent their escape, when they 

 have been once entrapped. Almost the only sound that the 

 Goatsucker (often termed in this country the Fern-Owl) makes 

 in flying, is a peculiar humming noise, caused by the rushing of 

 the air into the mouth. The foot of this Bird is very curiously 

 constructed. The hind toe, as in the Owls, can be brought 

 forwards ; and the middle claw of the anterior toes is furnished 





FIG. 252 FOOT OF EUROPEAN GOATSUCKER. 



with a long comb-like projection. The use of this peculiar organ 

 is not clearly ascertained ; by some it is affirmed that the Bird 

 employs it to clear away the fragments of insects, that may have 

 clogged up the fringe of bristles ; by others, that it strikes its 

 prey with its foot, and that this long serrated claw enables it to 

 hold the insect more securely ; and by others, again, that it uses 

 the instrument to clean its plumage. The Goatsucker is a solitary 

 Bird, and shy in its habits ; it seems to hide itself during the 

 day in fern brakes, and other spots where it can obtain shelter 

 near the ground ; and there the eggs, which are usually few in 



