348 GOATSUCKER. 



from October to February, and is a sedentary, solitary species ; said 

 to make no nest, fastening the eggs to the trees with a kind of 

 gummy matter; but according to Noseda, the eggs, which are two in 

 number, are deposited in a small hole of a dry tree, yet with no 

 appearance of a nest; in colour they are brown, and spotted. One 

 of these birds, attempted to be kept tame, was fed on raw meat, but 

 pined away and died, after March. 



This seems to have some affinity to the Jamaica Species, but we 

 are not certain of its beina: the same. 



18.— SCISSARS-TAILED GOATSUCKER. 



L'Ibijau a Queue en Ciseaux, Voy. d'Azara, iv. No. 309. 



LENGTH eleven inches and a half, breadth nineteen and a half. 

 Bill five inches and a half; head, neck, and upper parts dusky, 

 spotted with black ; a rufous streak from one eye to the other, passing 

 over the hindhead ; wing coverts dusky, varied with pale rufous 

 white; throat rufous, but more obscure; belly pale rufous; quills 

 banded with the same ; tail six inches and three quarters long, in 

 shape forked ; the outer feather exceeds the next by two inches, 

 which is five lines longer than the third ; the rest in proportion ; the 

 two middle ones very short, and barred with dusky, on a varied 

 brown ground ; the rest of the tail dusky, banded rufous white for 

 half the length; the other half whitish, dotted with dusky; legs 

 almost covered with feathers on the fore part. 



Inhabits Paraguay. Only found in the Isles of the River, always 

 singly, and in the middle of the winter only, never in spring or 

 summer; is seen continually flying backwards and forwards over the 

 water, and in flying opens and shuts the tail like a pair of scissars. 



