THE GOATSUCKER. 379 



from which numbers of them were taking their way for 

 their nocturnal excursions. 



Tall fern brakes are very favourite places with the 

 goatsucker ; and on account of its being often found 

 hawking about them, and may occasionally be driven out 

 from them during the day, one of its many names is 

 the " fern owl/' The under sides of fern leaves are, 

 however, very favourite places for moths, particularly 

 the large species, to rest upon during the heat of the 

 day, and that may be, and most probably is, the reason 

 why they are so much resorted to by the goatsucker. 

 The food of the goatsucker must, one would naturally 

 suppose, be more limited than that of most of the other 

 summer birds, for its brood never consists of more than 

 two ; and the whole of its labour, with the exception 

 of its incubation, is devoted to the finding of its food, 

 as it makes no formal nest, but deposits its two eggs, 

 which are white marbled with brown, among the roots 

 of ferns, and other tall vegetables, by which it can be 

 concealed, and also shaded from the sun. 



The eyes of the goatsucker have a good deal of 

 resemblance to those of the natural birds of prey ; 

 they are large, and light has the same powerful 

 action upon the iris, making it contract, till the 

 pupil be reduced to a mere point, and the vision 

 in consequence almost wholly prevented. All animals 

 have this involuntary contraction more or less ; but 

 it is always greatest in those constructions of eyes 

 that are adapted for seeing in the twilight : and 

 when they have to face a very bright light they 

 are momentarily blinded. It is this instant invo- 



