Oil-Bird 



541 



THE OIL-BIRD 



(Family Steatornithid<z) 



We may begin the consideration of the suborder Caprimulgi with an account 

 of the remarkable Oil-bird (Steatornis steatornis), which constitutes by itself a 

 very distinct family, showing points of agreement with both the Owls and Goat- 



FIG. 165. Oil-bird, Steatornis steatornis. 



suckers, but on the whole differing from either. It was discovered by the cele- 

 brated Humboldt a little over a century ago in a cave near the mission of Caripe, 

 Venezuela, but has since been found inhabiting caverns in Guiana, Colombia, 

 and Trinidad, as well as Ecuador and Peru. About eighteen or twenty inches 

 in length, it has comparatively weak legs and feet, but large, strong wings and 

 a hard, strong, somewhat Owl-like bill, which is deeply notched and provided 



