THE GOATSUCKERS. 
35 
works are given figures of some curious species with appen- 
dages to the wing and tail^ which would almost look to be 
impediments to the bird. The large eyes, enormous gape, 
and, at first sight, the seemingly unformed head and weak 
legs, serve to distinguish these birds from any other. Their 
nocturnal habits are marked by their plumage, which is of 
that obscure complexion seldom found in day-flying birds. 
The Wanderer in Demerara^'' has described, in his usually 
attractive method, the cries of one or two of the species 
which there meet the ears of the traveller lying in his ham- 
mock. One species in particular, about the size of the Enghsh 
wood-owl, laments in a cry of such deep distress, that ^4ie 
would say it was the departing voice of a midnight-murdered 
victim, or the last waiHng of Niobe for her poor children 
before she was turned into stone. Suppose yourself in hope- 
less sorrow, begin with a high, loud note, and pronounce ^ ha, 
ha, ha, ha, ha, ha ! ^ each note lower and lower, till the last 
is scarcely heard, pausing a moment or two betwixt every 
note, and you will have some idea of the moaning of the 
largest goatsucker in Demerara. 
^^Four other species of the goatsucker articulate some 
words so distinctly, that they have received their names from 
the sentences they utter, and absolutely bewilder the stranger 
