

LEONA GOAT-SUCKER Maerodiptex longipennu 



similar masculine appendages of male quadrupeds. The plumage of the Leona Nightjar 

 is very prettily marked with spots and bars of rusty-red and "black upon the usual brown 

 ground. Every primary feather possesses nine rusty-red spots, and as many of a black 

 hue, and there are many other spots and bars scattered over the body and wings. There 

 is a considerable amount of creamy white upon the scapularies, a few white mottlings upon 

 the throat of the male, and a reddish-white stripe down the outer web of the two exterior 

 tail-feathers. 



The beak of this species is not so powerful as in many of its relatives, but the vibrissae 

 are long and well developed. The wings are long, overpassing the tip of the tail while the 

 bird is at rest, and showing that the powers of flight are considerable. The bird is not a 

 large one, measuring only eight or ten inches in total length. It is a native of Western 

 Africa. 



The VIKGINIAN GOAT-SUCKEK, MOSQUITO HAWK, or NiGHT-HAWK, inhabits the northern 

 parts of the American continent, and in the summer months is seen even in the Arctic 

 regions. 



It is not so exohisively nocturnal a bird as most of the Goat-suckers, but will 

 voluntarily leave its home on a cloudy day, and commence its task of hunting after flies, 

 moths, beetles, and other insects on which it feeds. It is a bird of vigorous and active 

 wing, and follows its insect prey even into the loftier regions of air, where it seems as 

 much at its ease as the swift or swallow. While chasing the insects, the Mght-hawk 

 constantly utters a shrill squeaking kind of cry, reminding the spectator of the screaming 



