THE GAPERS. 131 



Some Goatsuckers have certain feathers of their wings so remarkably developed, that they have 

 been called by the Arabs " the four-winged birds" and are described by Swainson under the name 

 of MACRODIPTERYX. 



THE LONG-WINGED MACRODIPTERYX. 



The Long-winged Macrodipteryx {Macrodipteryx longipennis) has the tail of moderate size, 

 and straight at its extremity ; the foot resembles that of the European species ; the beak is delicate 

 and furnished with long bristles at its base. The plumage of the- male bird is characterised by the 

 long appendages which grow between the primary and secondary quills. These appendages, or rather 

 shafts, are frequently seventeen inches long, entirely bare to within six inches of the extremity, where 

 the web grows upon both sides and forms a broad expansion. The wing of the female is entirely 

 without this remarkable structure. The plumage, which is somewhat dusky, is a mixture of red and 

 black ; the throat is paler, and the nape decorated with a yellowish tint ; the primaries are striped 

 black and red, with a dark tip ; the secondaries are black with four red stripes. The centre tail- 

 feathers are grey, spotted and streaked with black. The length of these birds is about five inches : 

 the tail measures from three and a half to four, and the wing six inches and three-quarters. 



THE STREAMER-BEARING NIGHT JAR OR "FOUR WINGS." 



The Streamer-bearing Night Jar, or "Four Wings" (Cosmetornis vexillarius), is another 

 remarkable species, closely allied to that above described, but distinguished by the development, not 

 of one only, but of two excessively long feathers, that grow from each wing. These peculiar 

 appendages are furnished with a web upon both sides, extending throughout their entire length. We 

 are entirely without particulars as to the life and habits of this extremely rare bird, which inhabits 

 South-eastern Africa. 



All the various groups of Goatsuckers whose outward appearance we have thus briefly described 

 frequent woodland districts or forests, in the immediate neighbourhood of large plains and open 

 fields, as such localities abound with the insects on which they mainly rely for nourishment. Still 

 there are exceptions. The Red-throated Goatsucker, for example, is most frequently seen upon rocks 

 slightly overgrown with trees or shrubs, and though it builds in various situations, prefers plantations 

 of olive-trees, when about to make its nest, whilst the Cream-coloured Night Jar {Caprimulgus 

 isabellinus), on the contrary, usually conceals itself amidst the bushes or grass that cover the sandy 

 banks of the Nile. During the day most species seek a shady retreat, and either sit upon the ground 

 whilst reposing, or find shelter upon trees, on the boughs of which they recline, not after the 

 manner of other birds, but in such a position as to allow the entire body to lie along the supporting 

 branch, holding themselves, meanwhile, firmly in place by means of their inner toes, and the serrated 

 claw, with which the central toe is furnished; it is only when disturbed from their slumbers that the 

 Goatsuckers perch in the ordinary manner ; as soon as the supposed danger is over, they at once 

 resume their favourite attitude. Whilst asleep the eyelids are kept completely closed, but if 

 suddenly awakened, these birds blink, and peer around them, after the fashion of an Owl, and seek to 

 conceal themselves by lying close to the earth, or to the tree on which they are reposing. Upon 

 the ground they move with much difficulty; indeed, it has often been stated that their feet are 

 useless as a means of progression, but this is not the case, as we have on several occasions seen the 

 African Goatsuckers walk some little distance when passing from one resting-place to another. The 

 flight of all these various groups is unsteady and apparently aimless during the day, but at sunset they 

 seem endowed with new life, and may be seen alternately skimming and hovering over the face of the 

 country, in pursuit of moths, beetles, and various other insects, upon which they subsist. When their 



