180 



CArniMULGlDiE, GOATSUCKEES. GEN. 114. 



of the family. The eggs are colorless in the first and third of these, colored in 

 the second and fourth. 



Svhfamily CAPRIMULGINJE. True Goatsxickers. 



Sternum singly notched on each side behind, its body not square. Outer toe 

 A-jointed; middle claio pectinate; hind toe very short, elevated, semi-lateral; 

 anterior toes movablj' webbed at base ; tarsus very short, commonly much 

 leathered. Besides the semipalmation of the feet, there is another curious analogy 

 to wading birds ; for the young are downy at birth, as in Prcecoces, instead of 

 naked, as is the rule among AUrices. The plumage is soft and lax, much as in the 

 owls ; the birds have the same noiseless flight, as well as, in many cases, nocturnal 

 or crepuscular habits ; and they sometimes bear an odd resemblance to owls in their 

 general appearance. An evident design of the capacious mouth, 

 is the capture of insects ; the active birds quarter the air with wide 

 open mouth, and their minute prey is readily taken in. But they 

 also secure larger insects in other ways ; and to this end the rictus 

 is frequently stronglj' bristled, as in the Tyrannidce. Our two genera 

 are readily discriminated by the enormous rictal bristles, rounded tail 

 and comparatively short wings of Antrostomus, the slight bristles, 

 forked tail and long pointed wings of CJiordeiles; thej each repre- 

 sent one of the two sections of the subfamily. In both, the feet are 

 so extremely short that the birds cannot perch in the usual way, but 

 sit lengthwise on a large branch, or crouch on the ground. They no- lis. Bones or 

 lay two lengthened, dark colored, thickly spotted eggs, on or near •'y'n^siue 

 the ground, in stumps, etc. ; the sexes are distinguishable but nearly alike ; the 

 colors are subdued, blended and variegated ; the voice is peculiar. Migratory. 



%' 



>4 



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114. Genus ANTROSTOMUS Gould. 



* TJie rictal bristles ivith latercd filaments. 



Cliuck-tdirs-widoio. Singularly variegated with black, wbite, brown, 

 tawny and rufous, the prevailing tone fulvous; a whitish throat-bar; 

 several lateral tail feathers tipped with white in the $ , with rufous in the 

 9 . Large ; a foot long ; wing 8-9 ; tail 5 J-6i, slightly rounded. South 

 Atlantic and Gulf States, strictly ; resident in Florida. Wils., vi, 95, 



pi. 54, f. 2; NuTT., i, 612; Aud., i, 

 151, pi. 41 ; Bd., 147. carolijStensis. 

 * * The rictal bristles simple. 

 Wliij)jiooriviU. Night-jar. Upper 

 parts variegated with gray, black, 

 ^^pSi^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^s" whitish aud tawny ; black streaks 

 '/j'\s, — — »'"an=*«j==fin^^^^j^j. sharp on the head and back, the 



Fio.iiii. wi.u.poorwiii. ■ ^Q^yj.g elsewhere delicately marbled, 



including the four median tail feathers ; prevailing tone gray ; wings and 

 their coverts with bars of rufous spots ; lateral tail feathers black, with 

 tawny marbling in distant broken bars, and tipped with white ( <? ) or 



