capkimulgin^. 199 



Franklin's Night-jar. 



Descr. — Pale ashy-brown, variegated with rufous and dusky ; 

 the abdomen banded with dusky-reddish ; secondaries banded with 

 rufous and black ; primaries brownish-black, the four outer ones 

 with a broad white band, the six middle tail-feathers with slender 

 black undulations, the two outer ones on each side entirely white, 

 tipped with brown. The female has a rufous band on the first 

 four primaries, and the tail is all of one colour without any white. 

 She is also generally paler than the male. The general hue of 

 this species is more uniform than in any of the otliers. Tarsus 

 naked. 



Length 10 inches; wing 8; tail 4| ; extent 24; the wing 

 reaches nearly to the end of the tail ; weight 2\ oz. 



This Night-jar is generally spread throughout India, from the ex- 

 treme south to the Himalayas, extending into Arracan and Burmah, 

 but is somewhat locally distributed. In some localities you will find 

 it very numerous ; in others you Avill not find one. I found 

 it far from being an inhabitant of upland districts, as its 

 name would imply ; the first I saw were in the low land of 

 Candeish below the Ajunteh Ghat. I afterwards got it at 

 Nellore, among some low stony and bushy hills, and again in the 

 valley of the Nerbudda in jiingle, and also near Mhow and Saugor. 

 Mr. Blyth has obtained it also near Calcutta, where far from 

 uncommon. I have found the eggs of this species ; they are like 

 those of C. Asiaticus, but larger and with less of the salmon hue, 

 more of a stone colour, and with very pale clay-brown blotches. 



C. stictomiis, Swinhoe, from China is allied to monticolus ; and 

 C. ajinis, Horsfiold, of Malayana, is pronounced by Mr. Blyth to 

 be a ' diminutive' of C. monticolus. 



The only other recorded Goatsuckers from the East, not pre- 

 viously alluded to, are some very beautiful species of Gould's genus 

 Lyncornis, so named from the species having qtiasi ear-tufts, thus 

 further resembling the Eared-owls. There is one from the Bur- 

 mese countries of very large size, L. cerviniceps, Gould ; another from 

 Malayana ; and there are one or two others from the more distant 

 islands. Some of the foreign Caprimulginoi have long and forked 

 tails. The American genus Chordeiles wants the rictal bristles 



