GOATSUCKERS. 



regard them not only as an excellent dish, but also as a very- 

 restorative and medicinal kind of nourishment ; a very extensive 

 commerce is carried on in this article, which has been sold as 

 high as five dollars a pound. From thirty to fifty thousand 

 pounds are used in China every year. 



42. The Swifts, — Choetura, or Martins, or Martinets, — 

 Cypselus, — have a forked tail which consists of six quills only, 

 while in the Swallows properly so called there are twelve ; their 

 legs are very short and their toes are directed forwards. These 

 birds scarcely walk at all, and are seen constantly in the air, 

 pursuing, in flocks, and with loud cries, insects in the upper 

 regions of the atmosphere. They nestle in holes in walls, and 

 in rocks, and climb along smooth surfaces with great rapidity 



43. The Common Martin, — Hirundo apus, — is about eight 

 inches long, and the spread of the wings is nearly fifteen inches. 

 It is black with a white throat. It appears in France in the 

 month of April, and departs on the approach of cold. It ordi- 

 narily lays from two to five eggs once a year. 



44. The tribe of Nocturnal Fissirostres is composed of the 

 genus of Goatsuckers. 



45. The Goatsuckers, — Caprimnlgns, — {Plate ^.Jig> 2.) — all 

 resemble each other in their plumage and habits. They only 

 appear towards evening, and, for this reason, they might be 

 called crepuscular birds. The silky nature of their feathers, and 

 their mixed and delicate colours, give them, as far as relates to 

 their external covering, a strong resemblance to owls. Their 

 eyes are large ; their beak, which is furnished with strong mus- 

 taches, and more deeply cleft or open than in swallows, is 

 capable of receiving the largest insects which it retains by means 

 of a viscid saliva ; the nostrils, which are in the form of small 

 tubes, are near its base ; their wings are long, their feet short, 

 and the tarsi feathered ; the thumb can be directed forward. 



46. These birds live isolated, and only fiy during the twilight, 

 or in fine nights ; they pursue the phalenae and other nocturnal 

 insects, and lay a small number of eggs on the ground without 

 taking much care to construct a nest. When they fly, the rush- 

 ing of the air into their wide mouth produces a peculiar humming 

 noise. It has been said that they sucked the goats, but this is 

 untrue; the notion arose probably from their frequenting the 



42. How are the Swifls distinguished from the Swallows ? 



43. What are the characters of the common Martin ? 



44. What genus constitutes the Nocturnal Fissirostres? 



45. What are the characters of the Goatsuckers ? 



46. What are the habits of the Goatsuckers ? From what circumstance 

 do they derive their name ? 



