6% PASSERES. CAPRIMULGID^E. 



feet, the large ears and eyes, as also the sort of 

 disk that surrounds the face, and the saw-like edge 

 of the first wing-quill, observable in some species, 

 the downiness of the plumage, its sombre but varied 

 hues, and their exquisitely mottled and pencilled 

 arrangement, all form so many characters, which 

 evidently point to the Nightjars as the connecting 

 link between the Accipitrine and the Passerine 

 Orders. 



The Caprimulffida have the beak exceedingly 

 small, but the gape enormous ; its sides are for 

 the most part furnished with long and stiff 

 bristles, which point forwards, and the interior 

 of the mouth is moistened with a glutinous secre- 

 tion. All these provisions aid the capture of 

 large insects in flight, which form the principal 

 prey of these birds. The wings are long, and 

 formed for powerful flight ; the feet are very 

 small, plumed to the toes, which are connected at 

 the base by a membrane ; even the hind toe, 

 which is directed inwards, is thus joined to the 

 inner toe. The claw of the middle toe, in most 

 of the genera, is dilated on one side, and its edge 

 is cut into regularly formed teeth, like those of a 

 comb. 



The voices of the Nightjars, like those of the 

 Owls, are often harsh and uncouth; but their 

 utterance frequently possesses a vibratory or 

 quivering character that is peculiar. With a 

 single exception, they are nocturnal in their ac- 

 tivity. Their eggs are laid on the ground, with 

 but a slight mat of loose materials in place of a 

 nest. The species are widely spread ; and some 

 of those which inhabit tropical countries have re- 

 markable appendages to some of their feathers. 



