THE PUCKERIDGE 227 



purpose the comb could serve, it was the delight of 

 naturalists not many years ago to fancy that the 

 night-jar blew its music through a comb (the usual 

 tissue paper not being specified). But the night-jar 

 can with care be seen at song clearly enough for us to 

 be sure that it does not sing with its foot in its mouth. 

 The comb, no doubt, serves the same purpose as the 

 similarly armed foot of the bee to clean the night- 

 jar's whiskers and its music is purely vocal. After 

 all, we have one more inhabitant of England's summer 

 woods with a song of the same kind the turtle-dove. 

 The fern-owl sings the turtle-dove's song, not openly 

 as the dove does, but as though through the clenched 

 teeth, and, to follow the same simile, it thereby holds 

 its breath better and sings perhaps ten times as long 

 without appearing to take breath. It churrs on a high 

 note till we think it has reached the utmost limit of 

 endurance, then without a pause it gives us equal 

 measure on a low note. It seems, indeed, that it 

 would never stop, if it were not that its volatile mate 

 swoops by and interrupts with an invitation to a game 

 of touch. Our woods would seem empty indeed on 

 summer evenings if they should lack the droning, 

 playful puckeridge. 



