NIGHTJAR. 198 



front or upper side, and naked behind, showing the reticu- 

 lated skin. The middle toe measures nine lines, and is 

 connected with the outer and inner ones by webs reaching 

 as far as the first joint ; the outer and inner toes measure 

 five lines ; the hinder, which is reversible, not more than 

 three. The nail of the middle toe, which is much longer 

 than the rest, is furnished on the inner edge with a beautiful 

 little comb, of the use of which various opinions have been 

 given ; we incline to the supposition that it is applied to 

 the purpose of dressing the before-mentioned vibrissse, as 

 it appears from its structure more calculated for the service 

 of the toilet than as a means of capturing or retaining their 

 prey. 



The plumage of the Nightjar is remarkably soft and 

 silky, but the shafts of all the feathers, especially those 

 of the wing and tail, are strong and firm. The tail, consist- 

 ing of ten feathers, is nearly even at the end, and the feathers 

 measure five and a half inches. The principal colours of 

 the plumage are ochre, orange, brown, and grey, beautifully 

 pencilled upon rich dark brown. The feathers of the head, 

 nape, back, and scapulars are marked down the shafts of 

 the feathers with a stripe of deep velvet black. The eyes 

 are encircled with hairy feathers, mottled with orange and 

 black ; the same colours prevail upon the chin and throat, 

 and extend backwards round the neck, forming a kind of 

 collar. Along the lower mandible a white stripe passes to 

 the back of the ear-coverts, and there is a white spot on 

 each side of the throat. 



The male is principally distinguished from the female in 

 colouring by white spots, which occupy an inch of the tip 

 of the two outer feathers of the tail, and a small portion 

 of the inner web of the three first quill- feathers of the wing. 

 In both sexes the under plumage is barred with orange, 

 brown, and dusky transverse lines. The large and beautiful 



