GOATSUCKERS, ETC. 



Caprim ulgidse. 



^IGHTHAWKS, Whip-poor-wills, etc., form the very interesting family 

 of GoATSUCKEBS. They are nocturnal birds, playing, like the Owls, 

 a great rSle in the superstitions of all human races, be they black 

 or white, yellow oi; red. They always have been in disgrace with 

 man. It has been handed down from generation to generation, 

 that these nocturnal birds subsist by milking the cows and goats. 

 "Poor injured little bird of night," says Waterton, "how sadly hast thou 

 suifered, and how foul a stain has inattention to facts put upon thy 

 character! Thou hast never robbed man of any part of his property, 

 nor deprived the kid of a drop of milk. When the moon shines bright 

 you may have a fair opportunity of examining the Goatsucker. You w^ill 

 see it close by the cows, goats, and sheep, jumping up every now^ and 

 then under their bellies. Approach a little nearer. See how the nocturnal 

 flies are tormenting the herd, and with what dexterity he springs up and 

 catches them as fast as they alight on the bellies, legs, and udders of 

 the animals. Were you to dissect him and inspect his stomach, you would find no milk 

 there. It is full of flies which have been annoying the herd." 



"The plumage of all these birds 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 fluffiness and laxity 

 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 the powdery coloration of a moth's wings, are at best not easy to describe. 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, Bvit they also 



