DIARY OF THE HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 503 



a sort of hop into the air with wings extended, and then crouch 

 down again. In a very short time it rises from the ground, and 

 flies either to the same tree or another not far away, " churrs " 

 again, and again settles on the ground either in exactly the same 

 spot or close by. Last night (17th) I watched it do this four or 

 five times in succession. Could not make out that this had any- 

 thing to do with feeding, and think it probable the bird's mate is 

 somewhere near on her eggs, though have looked all about for 

 them without success. At this time (from 8.30 to 9.30 or 10 p.m.) 

 they do not seem to be much occupied in catching insects — very 

 different from Bats or Swallows. The short flights between 

 11 churr " and " churr " on the trees did not seem to be made for 

 this purpose, though they may have been. I have never seen them 

 settle on any part of these young firs except the extreme tip. 



June 22nd. — (Fine.) A bird would be circling about in the 

 open when another would dart from a clump of fir trees close by 

 and pursue it. Instantly the first bird would clap its wings 

 loudly and excitedly above its back a dozen, sixteen, or twenty- 

 five times in succession. These numbers must be taken as the 

 minimum in each case. Very probably there were more claps. 

 It is difficult to count them all, and one is always behind. Again, 

 a bird circling about over grass and low sparsely scattered 

 bushes has stayed hovering in the air a few feet above the grass, 

 clapping its wings loudly and continuously, then sunk like a 

 shadow on to the ground. My impression is that its mate was 

 crouched there. Again, one has sprung from the branch of a 

 fir tree in a swift downward flight to the ground, with a continual 

 clapping of the wings, poising a moment just above the earth 

 with the wings raised high above the back (most graceful), and 

 then sinking down. Immediately afterwards the bird would rise 

 again, still clapping its wings, whilst in front of it, also from the 

 ground, rose another, which it pursued.* They by no means 



* "i n general its flight is silent, but at times, when disturbed from its 

 repose, its wings may be heard to smite together " (Professor Newton, ' A 

 Dictionary of Birds'). It is in joy, not in fear, that the wings are smitten, 

 and when the bird is least troubled by man's " gaucheries." Disturbance 

 may produce the sound, but is no key to its real nature. Its ordinary cause 

 is social, and especially (as I believe) sexual pleasurable excitement, of which 

 it is the true expression, though so implanted that most excitations will 

 produce it, 



