BIIIDS. 291 



sea-coast of the kingdom of China," says he, '' a sort of party- 

 coloured birds, of the shape of swallows, at a certain season of 

 the year, which is their breeding time, come out of the midland 

 country to the rocks, and from the foam or froth of the sea- 



iniiflit have had ratlier a fig'iirativo than a literal meaning. Many of tlie in- 

 sectivonius birds, it is trui!, an' found frequently near the persons of cattlo 

 and sheep while g-razin^— for the piu-pose, doubtless, of preying on the nu. 

 merous insects which feed on the excretions from these aniniaN : but this 

 habit is common to many genera of birds, and gives no reasonable support 

 to the notion in question, h hich is incompatible with the organization of the 

 whole class. 



These birds are inhabitants of Europe, and, indeed, are found in almost 

 all parts of the world; but they are rare here, and more so in appearance 

 tlian reality, from their crepusculous habits. It is in the new world, espe- 

 cially South America, that they most abound, and are divisible into many 

 species. Asia, and New Holland, moreover, are not without them. 



Unfitted, like the owls, for full day-light, the Goatsuckers hide them . 

 selves in some obscure retreat. Twilight is their short period of activity, 

 but the rapidity of their flight, and the size of the mouth, enable them to 

 nnike the most of this limited time in procuring food. They devote no tune 

 to niditication, but deposit their eggs in simple concavities on the ground, 

 and thus the time necessary for the two great objects of animal existence, 

 self-support and propagation, are proportioned to the comparative short pe- 

 riods of their activity. In the day, they sometimes utter a plaintive cry, re- 

 peated rapidly three or four times, and indicative of the then negative charac. 

 ter of their desires, for they seem to want nothing but retirement and repose. 



The European Goatsucker is the only species known here This bird has 

 received a variety of popular names, which have been, many of thera, 

 adopted by naturalists. Such as flying-toad, square-tailed swallow, night- 

 raven, night-hawk, dorr-hawk, churn and fern owl, &c. Its food, mode of 

 taking it, and style of flying caused it to receive the name of square-tailed 

 swallow. 



This bird Is solitary ; two of them are rarely seen together, and even then 

 tbey preserve a tolerable distance from each other. It frequents mountains 

 and plains, almost always conceals itself under a bush, or In the young 

 coppices, and seems to give the preference to dry and stony soils, and those 

 which are covered with briars. Its mode of perching dilfers from that of 

 other birds ; it fixes itself longitudinally on the branch, which it seems to 

 tread like the cock. It is difficult to be perceived, when in this position, 

 from the dulness of its colours, and their approximation to that of tlio 

 branches. It is when thus situated that it principally utters its peculiar 

 cry, which, having some resemblance to that of a toad, has gained for it, in 

 France, the popular name of ciapatid.volant. Tliis cry is a plaintive sort of 

 sound, repeated three or four times in succession. The noise which it 

 makes in flying is dissimilar, and, according to some, is a cry of another 

 kind. But, according to others, it is caused by the iiir, which it engulphs in 

 its large throat, since it flies with its mouth open, which produces a hum. 

 inii!(j noise, like to that of a spinning-wheel. This opinion seems probablf, 



2 li 2 



