Goatsucker. INSECTIV. CAPRIMULGUS. 135 
Genus XXI. GOATSUCKER. CAPRIMULGUS, Linn. 
GENERIC CHARACTERS. 
Bill very short, rather curved, broad: and depressed at the 
base; the upper mandible deflected at the point. Gape very 
large, and extending as far as, or beyond, the posterior angle 
of the eyes. In most cases the basal edge of the upper man- 
dible bordered with strong moveable bristles directed for- 
wards. Nostrils basal, tubular, or with a large prominent 
rim, clothed with very small feathers. 
Wings long, the first quill shorter than the second, which 
is the longest of all. Tail rounded or forked, of ten feathers. 
Feet haying the tarsi short, toes three before and one behind, 
the anterior ones united as far as the first jomt by a mem- 
brane ; the claw of the middle toe broad, and serrated on the 
imner edge. 
The members of this curious genus are nocturnal and cre- 
puscular feeders, and have, not unaptly, been termed Nighi 
Swallows. Yn some of the species there is an evident ap- 
proach to the genus Strix, in the great curvature and horny 
mass of the bill, as well as in the radiating ruff of feathers ~ 
that adorns the front. The eyes and ears are also large and 
prominent in the whole of this genus, and the texture of the 
feathers very soft. and delicate. Their food consists of the 
Phaleenze and other winged nocturnal insects, which they take 
with extended mouth during their flight. ‘They moult once 
in the year, and the males are generally to be distinguished 
from the other sex by white spots ornamenting some of the 
quills, and the tips of the outer tail-feathers. 
Some of the exotic species are decorated by extraneous fea- 
thers, or other appendages, issuing from the wings, tail, or 
bill. 
