358 Wild Life in Wales 



also, one of the birds known as Troellwr, or Nyddwr^ the 

 former being a man who spins, the latter a woman ; but 

 these names are often shared by other birds, such as the 

 Snipe and the Grasshopper Warbler ; and as the Deryn corff 

 appears in summer and winter alike, and is sometimes heard 

 to " shriek at night," the application of that name is, also, 

 somewhat vague, and uncertain. 



The manner in which the whip-thong notes of the 

 Nightjar, above referred to, are produced, has frequently 

 been the cause of dissension amongst naturalists, by some 

 of whom it has been likened to a squeak, by others to the 

 noise produced when a whip is swung rapidly round the 

 head. It has generally been thought that it is made use of 

 only when the bird is upon the wing, and to be confined 

 exclusively to the male. To the writer, the sound appears 

 to be a shrill whistling note, comparable to the ordinary call 

 of the quail ; and that it is not produced by the wing, he has 

 convinced himself by having, more than once, had the bird 

 in view, perched before him, when the note was uttered. 

 From close observation, he is also almost certain that the note 

 is common to either sex. He has certainly heard it made use 

 of by two birds at the same time, where a pair were wheel- 

 ing round their nesting quarters ; and when, though in the 

 twilight it was not possible to be absolutely certain of the 

 fact, he felt convinced that no second male was present. 

 He has, moreover, heard the note, which is commonly dis- 

 syllabic, prolonged so as to give a very fair representation 

 of "whip-poor-will," a poetical name, which, from its call, 

 one of the American Nightjars (Antrostomus vociferus}, has 

 had bestowed upon it. 



Another familiar sound made by the Nightjar is a loud 

 clap, produced by the wings being brought sharply together 

 above the back, in pigeon fashion. It is generally heard 

 when a pair of the birds are toying together in the evening, 

 and seems to be most commonly made by the male. After 

 producing it, the bird will frequently glide for a yard or 

 two, on uplifted, and, apparently, motionless pinions, and 

 probably repeat the clap, as it alters its course, and veers 

 sharply round. The whip-thong note, also, is frequently 



