448 SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS.— PICABI^— CYPSELIFOBMES. 



reotriees. In certain genera, either wing or tail develops a pair of immensely lengthener. 

 feathers. Feet extremely small; tarsus usually short, and partly feathered; hind toe very 

 sliort, commonly elevated and turned sideways; front toes connected at base by movable web- 

 bing, and frequently showing abnormal ratio or phalanges, the 4th toe having but 4 joints 

 (p. 127, flg. 41) ; middle toe lengthened beyond the short lateral ones, its claw usuaDy pecti- 

 nate (fig. 391) . The oil-gland is nude, and coeoa are present. The arrangement of the leg- 

 muscles is anomalogonatous (p. 195); the ambiens and accessory femoro-caudal are both 

 absent. 



A definitely-circumscribed, easily-recognized group of about 14 genera and rather more 

 than 100 species, of temperate and tropical parts of both hemispheres. They are all more or less 

 nocturnal, and have a certain resemblance to owls, — particularly the genus Steatornis, which is 

 quite owlish. The flight is perfectly noiseless ; the plumage is very soft and lax, as in owls, 

 and the colors are usually blended in the most intricate pattern. The Caprimulgidcs are 

 divisible, according to the structure of the feet, into two subfamilies : Podargince, chiefly Old 

 World, with the normal ratio of phalanges, and Caprimulgmee (as below). Considering, how- 

 ever, other points, particularly the shape of the sternum, a more elaborate division is into (1) 

 Podargince, phalanges normal, tarsus naked and lengthened, sternum doubly-notched, with 

 three genera (Poda/rgus, Batrotchostomus, and ^gotheles of the Old World ; (2) NycUbiince, 

 phalanges normal, tarsus short, feathered, sternum doubly-notched, upper mandible toothed, 

 containing one genus (NycUhius) of tropical America ; (3) SteatornitMnce, phalanges normal, 

 sternum singly-notched, with one remarkable genus (Steatornis) of tropica,l America, which 

 might properly be made type of a separate family, so many are the peculiarities of this owlish 

 bird ; and finally (4) Caprimulgints, comprising the rest of the family. The latter alone is 

 represented in North America. Our " Whippoorwills " are typically caprimulgine, and give a 

 good idea of the essential characters of the family; our "Night-hawks" are more aberrant, 

 representing a particular section of the subfamily ; but neither of these gives any hint of the 

 singular shapes which some of the genera assume. 



30. Subfamily CAPRIMULCIN/E : True Goatsuckers; Night-Jars. 



Sternum singly-notched on each side behind ; its body not 

 square. Eatio of phalanges abnormal. Outer toe i-jointed; 

 middle claw pectinate; hind toe very short, elevated, semi-lateral; 

 anterior- toes movdbly webhed at base (fig. 41) ; lateral toes not 

 nearly reaching base of middle claw. Tarsus very short, com- 

 moialy much feathered (longer and naked in NycHd/romus and 

 Phalmnoptilus). Besides the semipalmation of the feet, there 

 is another curious analogy to wading birds ; for the young are 

 downy at birth, as in Prmcoces, instead of naked, as is the rule 

 among Altrices. The plumage is soft and lax, much as in the 

 Owls; the birds have the same noiseless flight, as well as, in 

 most cases, nocturnal or crepuscular habits; and some of them 

 bear an odd resemblance to Owls. Besides this flufiiness and 

 laiity of the plumage, the skin is very thin and tender ; it is 

 difficult to make good. specimens of the whippoorwills, and the 

 curiously variegated blended shades, of exquisite beauty, like 



_ „. , 1 ^ , , ^ the powdery coloration of a moth's wines, are at best not easy 



rm. 290.— Night-hawk, a glab- , ., . -j ^ j ■ r .i • ..,.., 



rirostral Caprimulgine. (Prom Ten- to describe. An evident design 01 the capacious mouth IS the 

 ney, after Wilson.) 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 strongly bristled, as in the Tyrannidm. In 



