WHIP-POOR-WILL. i6g 



knees, and, as well as the toes, of a purplish flesh colour, 

 seamed with white; the middle claw is pectinated on its inner 

 edge, to serve as a comb to clear the bird of vermin ; the 

 whole lower parts of the body are marked with transverse 

 lines of dusky and yellowish. The tail is somewhat shorter 

 than the wings when shut, is handsomely forked, and consists 

 of ten broad feathers; the mouth is extremely large, and of a 

 reddish flesh colour within ; there are no bristles about the 

 bill ; the tongue is very small, and attached to the inner sur- 

 face of the mouth. ■ 



The female measures about nine inches in length, and 

 twenty-two in breadth ; differs in having no white band on 

 the tail, but has the spot of white on the wing; wants the 

 triangular spot of white on the throat, instead of which there 

 is a dully defined mark of a reddish cream-colour ; the wings 

 are nearly black, all the quills being slightly tipt with white ; 

 the tail is as in the male, and minutely tipt with white ; all 

 the scapulars, and whole upper parts, are powdered with a 

 much lighter gray. 



There is no description of the present species in Turton's 

 translation of Linnams. The characters of the genus given 

 in the same work are also in this case incorrect, viz., "mouth 

 furnished with a series of bristles; tail not forked," — the 

 night hawk having nothing of the former, and its tail being 

 largely forked. 



WHIP-POOE-W1LL. (Caprimulgus vociferus.) 



PLATE XLL— Fig. 1, Male ; Fig. 2, Female ; Fig. 3, Young. 



Peak's Museum, No. 7721, male ; 7722, female. 

 CAPRIMULGUS VOCIFERUS.- Wilson. 



Caprimulgus vociferus, Bonap. Synop. p. 61. — North. Zool. ii. p. 336.— Whip- 

 poor-will, Aud. Orn. Biog. i. p. 422, pi. 32., 



This is a singular and very celebrated species, universally 

 noted over the greater part of the United States for the loud 



