274 



PASSKRKS. BIRDS. CAPRIMUI.GID^. 



TRIBE I. FISSIEOSTRES. 



THE tribe of the Fissirostral birds, with which we 

 commence the long series of Passeres, is distinguished, 

 as already stated, by the great extent of the gape, 

 which, in the most typical or characteristic forms, 

 reaches as far back as the hinder margin of the eye. 

 The birds thus characterized constituted the whole of 

 the group as established by Cuvier ; but most modern 

 ornithologists are agreed in referring to the same 

 position in the system several families which, in the 

 classification of Cuvier, occupied a very different 

 place. Nevertheless, the distinction between these 

 birds is so well marked, that we may regard this tribe 

 as consisting of a typical and an aberrant group of 

 families, rather than of a nocturnal and a diurnal one, 

 as is usually done ; for the nocturnal forms the Goat- 

 suckers are very nearly allied to the Swifts and 

 Swallows, and form with them a perfectly natural group ; 

 whilst the remaining families are almost equally closely 

 related to each other in their general conformation. 

 The typical families correspond with the order Cheli- 

 dows of Vieillot and Temminck. 



FAMILY L CAPRIMULGID^E. 



The Caprimulgidse, or Goatsuckers, are distinguished 

 by the intensity with which they exhibit the fissirostral 

 characters : the bill is very short and much depressed, 

 and the gape uncommonly wide, extending quite 

 beneath the eyes. The upper margins of the gape are 



Head of Goatsucker (Caprimnlgus europajus). 



generally Ordered by very long stiff bristles, which in 

 some species betray their analogy with feathers by 

 bearing a few barbs upon their sides. The legs and tarsi 

 of these birds are rather short, but the anterior toes are 

 long and stout ; and the hinder toe, which is shorter, 

 is turned somewhat forward, and slightly united at the 

 base to the inner anterior toe. The wings are usually 

 long, and rather pointed, but far inferior in both these 

 respects to those of the other families of typical 

 Fissirostres, which scarcely yield to any other birds in 

 length and power of wing. A further distinction of the 

 Goatsuckers consists in their adaptation to a nocturnal 

 mode of life, in which they resemble the Owls, with 



which we concluded the preceding order. Like all 

 nocturnal birds, they have a soft plumage, which 

 enables them to fly noiselessly through the air ; and 

 large eyes, adapted for the perception of objects in 

 the dim twilight. They are insectivorous birds, feeding 

 principally upon the moths and beetles which fly 

 at night. These they capture on the wing, and 

 the long spreading bristles with which the mouth is 

 fringed are of the greatest service to them in capturing 

 this active kind of prey. 



THE COMMON GQA.TS\JGKER(Caprimulgusenropa!tts}, 

 Plate 6, fig. 17, and woodcuts 103 and 104 may be 

 first referred to, as it is almost the sole representative 

 of the family in Europe, and is not an uncommon bird 

 in this country. It is, however, a bird of passage, 

 retiring to the warm regions of the South, from the 

 colder and temperate countries of Europe and Northern 

 Asia, in the autumn, before the inclemency of winter 

 has destroyed its insect food; and returning again to its 

 summer quarters in the month of May, when the mild 

 weather of spring has begun to vivify the insect world. 

 The Common Goatsucker measures about ten of 

 eleven inches in length, including the tail, which "25 

 rather long. The plumage is dusky in its general tint, 

 presenting when closely examined a mixture of grey, 

 red, and brown ; but the whole of the upper parts are 

 streaked and spotted with blackish-brown, and the tints 

 of the lower surface are arranged so as to form a series 

 of alternately dark and light undulated bars. The eyes 

 are dark, and very beautiful. In common with nume- 

 rous allied species of the family, the Goatsucker has a 

 very short and weak bill, and the feet also short and 

 weak, so that it appears to have some difficulty in 

 perching in the ordinary manner of the passerine birds ; 



but when resting on the branch of a tree, places 



itself in the direction of the length of the latter, 



and crouches down closely 



upon it, as if fearful of Fig, 104. 



falling off. The middle anterior 

 toe is considerably longer than 

 the lateral ones, and terminated 

 by a long claw, which is singu- 

 larly pectinated (fig. 104), or 

 toothed like a comb along its 

 inner edge. The number of 

 teeth or serrations in a perfect 

 claw are about ten, but the tip 

 generally appears to be worn 

 away, and thus the number is 

 reduced to six or seven. The 

 use of this pectinated claw has 

 long been a puzzle to naturalists, F oot of Goatsucker, 

 and we can hardly say that its 

 object has yet been thoroughly ascertained. White 

 of Selborne, in one of his charming letters, writes 

 as follows regarding an observation which he made 

 upon one of these birds "as it was playing round a 

 large oak that swarmed with Scaraboei solstitiales, 



