FAMILY CAPRIMULGID^E ; 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 

 at no great height from 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 ingulf 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. The ordinary note of the Goatsucker 

 (often termed in this country the Fern Owl) is a singular whirr- 

 ing sound, which has been compared to that of a spinning wheel, 

 but during flight it sometimes utters a shrill whistle. 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 an- 



FIG. 232. FOOT OF EUROPEAN GOATSUCKKK. 



terior toe is furnished 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 Goat- 

 sucker 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 



G G 2 



