VOICES OF THE NIGHT 253 



to seize large insects on the wing, and that if goats 

 yield no milk in the morning it is not the nightjar 

 who is to blame. Nightjars are brownish grey birds, 

 mottled and barred all over like cuckoos, for which 

 they are often mistaken. Two are common in India. 

 The first of these is Caprimulgus asiaticus, the common 

 Indian nightjar, whose call is heard only after night- 

 fall, and resembles the sound made by a stone skimming 

 over ice. The other nightjar is that of Horsfield 

 {Caprimulgus macrurus). Its note has been compared 

 to the noise made by striking a plank with a hammer. 

 The distribution of nightjars is capricious. They are 

 fairly common in the western districts of the United 

 Provinces. 



Horsfield's nightjar is abundant in the sal forests of 

 the Pilibhit district. 



