74 



THE GOAT SUCKER. 



in Germany, and more rarely in France. 



At Hudson's Bay they are 

 observed by day flying 

 high, and preying on 

 the White Grouse and 

 other birds, sometimes 

 even attending the 

 hunter like a Falcon, 

 and boldly taking up 

 the wounded game as it 

 flutters on the ground. 

 They are also said to 

 feed on Mice and in- 

 sects, and (according to 

 Meyer) they nest upon- 

 trees, laying two white 

 eggs. They are said to 

 be constant attendants 

 on the Ptarmigans in 

 their spring migrations 

 towards the north ; and 

 are observed to hovei 

 round the camp fires 

 of the natives, in quest 

 probably of any offa) 

 or rejected game. 



THE GOAT SUCKER. 



The Accipitres, it will be remembered, possess strong hooked beaks 

 and sharp curved claws. The foot and head of the Passeres are entirely 

 different ; the beak being without the formidable curved tip, and th 

 claws being of a quiet and peaceful character. 



The first tribe of this order, the Fissirostres, are so called from th 

 peculiar formation of their mouths, whicls 

 appear as if they had been slit up from thei? 

 ordinary termination to beyond the eyes, much 

 resembling the mouth of a Frog. In the 

 insect-eating Fissirostres this formation is 

 admirably adapted for capturing their active 

 prey, and in the Kingfishers it is equally 

 adapted for securing the slippery inhabitants 

 of the waters. 



The CaprimulgidaB are nocturnal in their habits, chasing their insect 

 \>rey by night or at the dusk, when the Chaffers and the large Moths 

 are on the wing. In order to prevent the escape of the insect when 

 taken, the mouth is Cringed with long stiff bristles, called " vibrissae." 



GOAT SUCKER. 



