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the 16th of July, when he again whirred in a moor near the south-west corner of the parish. 

 This moor is upwards of a mile in circumference, and surrounded chiefly by Scotch fir trees. On 

 the 20th inst. I went thither to observe his habits. It was a very pleasant evening, and the 

 thermometer at 54°. At the south-west corner of the moor, at five minutes before nine o'clock, 

 he began to whir, and continued about two minutes. He then flew about in pursuit of his prey. 

 About ten minutes after nine he alighted on the top of a Scotch fir at the south-east corner, and 

 continued to whir for three minutes and a half. After having hawked about for six minutes, he 

 alighted upon a tree at the north-east corner, where he whirred for a short time. He then flew 

 to the north-west corner, where he uttered his whirring sound for one minute and a half. He 

 once rose to the height of about sixty or seventy feet, whistling as he mounted. On this occa- 

 sion his peculiar mode of flight was similar to that which the male Cushat makes when he rises 

 and falls in the air at the season of pairing. At a quarter to ten o'clock, after having made 

 almost a complete circuit of the woods, he returned to the same tree upon which he was perched 

 when first heard. After remaining there about two minutes he flew past me in an abrupt and 

 wavering manner, and was not heard again during the evening. The wind had by this time 

 risen, which perhaps accounts for his silence. His flight was sometimes very rapid, and not 

 unlike that of the Swallow. The particular noise, which has been compared to that of a 

 spinning-wheel, is said by some ornithologists to be produced when the bird is perched with its 

 head lowermost. This, however, is not always the case ; for upon this evening I again and again 

 distinctly heard and saw the Nightjar whirring while perched upon the top of a Scotch fir, with 

 his head in a position even more erect than that in which he generally carries it. On Tuesday 

 evening, the 23rd, about a quarter before nine o'clock, I again went to watch this bird. I con- 

 tinued upon the moor until half past eleven ; but I neither saw nor heard him, although the 

 wind was south-west, and the thermometer 59°. At nine o'clock on Wednesday evening the 

 24th, I again returned, being determined, if possible, to get another glimpse of him. Having 

 remained for an hour in a state of anxiety, I was just on the eve of departing, when, exactly at 

 ten o'clock, in the north-west side of the moor I heard the accustomed sound, which continued 

 one minute. Having flown about for two minutes in search of moths and beetles, the bird 

 alighted on a tree in the north-east corner, where he whirred for about four minutes. After a 

 momentary pause he whirred for a similar period ; then making another pause for a moment, he 

 whirred for three minutes. After having been engaged for twenty-eight minutes in capturing 

 his prey, and whistling now and then whilst doing so, he sat upon the top of a tree at the east 

 corner, and whirred six minutes without intermission. Having paused for a second, he whirred 

 other two minutes, and then went in search of food for a short time. From the top of a tree in 

 the south-east corner he whirred five minutes, then having made a momentary cessation he 

 whirred other two minutes. At one minute after eleven o'clock he flew very quickly past me, 

 making a whistling sound eight times. He performed exactly the same circuit round the moor 

 as he had done on the 20th inst., but in the reverse direction, and stopped at the same places as 

 on that evening. Although it was a most charming bright moonlight evening, and the ensuing 

 morning very beautiful, the wind from the south-west, and the thermometer 53°, he did not 

 again whir. I remained in the moor till twenty minutes to three o'clock. Between eleven and 

 half past one o'clock I occasionally heard him whistle. He ceased from feeding when the 



