PLATE LXVIL 



day, fitting ufually on a bare bough, with its head lower than the 

 tail, the lower jaw quivering with the efforts. The noife is fo very 

 violent, as to give a fenfible vibration to any little building it chances 

 to alight on, and emit this fpecies of note. The other is a fharp 

 fqueak, which it repeats often : this feems to be a note of love, as 

 it is obferved to reiterate it when in purfuit of the female among 

 the trees.'* 



The male is diflinguifhed from the female by a large oval white 

 fpot, fituated on the inner web of the fird three quill feathers, and 

 another at the ends of the two exterior feathers of the tail. 



The bill is alike in both male and female : it is inert, but the 

 gape is remarkably wide. It is, probably, from the ftructui e of the 

 mouth that the ancients fuppofed this bird fucked the teats of goats. 

 In the days of Ariftotle, this ridiculous notion was generally preva- 

 lent j but among modern naturalifts, none except Scopoli feems in- 

 clined to credit fuch an opinion. 



The female makes no neft, but lays her eggs on the bare ground. 

 They are ufually two in number, of a whitifh hue, and marbled 

 with brown. 



This is a very confined genus. Latham enumerates, including 

 his fupplementary volume, but feventeen fpecies, and of thefe we 

 find only our prefent fubjett, mentioned as a native of Europe. It 

 appears to be an inhabitant of every country on the continent, but 

 is very fparingly diffufed in fome parts, and no where common : it 

 is alfo faid to inhabit Africa and AJia. Sonnerat met with one on the 

 coaft of Coromandel. With us it is a bird of paffage, and arrives 

 #bout the latter end of May. It entirely difappears in the northern 



parts 



