THE FERN OWL. 65 



the palm. Another use has been also assigned to 

 these toothed-claws, that of enabling then to carry 

 off their eggs, if disturbed: some naturalists assert- 

 ing that they have such a power, and have been 

 actually seen in the act of flight with eggs in their 

 claws ; but the fact has been denied by others. That 

 it is not impossible, however, even for birds without 

 such claws, to remove their eggs, we can vouch from 

 good authority; for a Pheasant having laid her eggs 

 in a fallow-field, became dissatisfied with her situa- 

 tion, and removed them to a less frequented spot in 

 the same field, where she deposited them in another 

 nest, which she had previously scraped together. 



With all these united powers, swift and silent too 

 in flight as it is, no wonder that this bird makes 

 such havoc amongst the, to us nearly invisible, mul- 

 titudes that people the silent air on a summer's night. 

 At twilight, it may sometimes be seen at work, 

 flitting about, hovering now over one spot, then over 

 another, occasionally dropping or tumbling over, as 

 if shot; this is the moment, when having seized 

 a moth, the bird reaches it to its mouth, and loses 

 its balance, when again rising, it glides away like 

 a ghost, till lost in shade. We have but one species 

 visiting England, but in foreign countries there 

 are many. In South America, particularly, they 

 abound: the curious retreats of one species of these 

 birds are thus described by the celebrated traveller, 

 M. De Humboldt, who visited a dark chasm in the 

 rocks called the Cavern of Guacharo, frequented by 

 a species (Caprimulgus steatornis) whose young 

 were caught to furnish oil : 



" A frightful noise, made by these birds, issued 



VOL. II. F 



