PERCHERS 
GOAT-SUCKERS. 
ITH the owls closes the history of those birds which are called predaceous, 
although to a considerable extent nearly all birds are somewhat predaceous, even 
if they prey upon smaller victims than do the vultures, eagles, falcons, or owls. 
Next to the Accipitres come the Passeres, distinguished by their cere-less and 
pointed beak, their legs feathered as far as the heel, their tarsus covered in front 
with shield-like scales, and their slightly curved and sharply pointed claws. 
This order is a very large one, and embraces a vast variety of birds. 
First among the Passerine birds are placed the Fissirostres or cleft-beaked birds, so called 
from the enormous gape of the mouth, a structure which is intended to aid them in the 
capture of the agile prey on which they feed. Some of the birds, such as the goat-suckers, 
swallows, bee-eaters, and others, prey upon insects, which they take upon the wing ; while 
some, such as the kingfishers, feed upon fish, which they snatch from the water and bear 
to their homes in spite of their hard, slippery, scale-covered armor, or the watery element in 
which they dwell. 
The Goat-suckers, as they are familiarly termed, from a stupid notion that was formerly 
in great vogue among farmers, and is not even yet quite extinct, that these birds were in the 
habit of sucking the wild goats, cows, and sheep, are placed first among the Fissirostres on 
account of the wonderfully perfect manner in which their structure is adapted to the chasing 
and securing of the swift-winged insects on which they feed. The color of all these birds is 
sombre ; black, brown, and gray being the prevailing tints. The gape of the mouth is so large 
that when the bird opens its beak to its fullest extent, it seems to have been severely wounded 
across the mouth, and the plumage is lax and soft like that of the owl. 
The singular bird which is known by the name of the Trinidad Goat-sucker, or 
Guacharo, is remarkable for the peculiarity from which it derives its name of Steatornis 
or Fat-Bird. 
The Guacharos congregate in vast multitudes within the shelter of certain dark caverns, 
the greater portions of which remain unexplored owing to the superstitious fear of the natives, 
who fancy that the spirits of their ancestors hold their gloomy state in the innermost recesses 
of the caverns where the Guacharos reside. So strongly is this idea imprinted in their minds, 
that to “join the Guacharos” is, in the native language, an expression which signifies the 
death of the person of whom it is said. In these caverns the Guacharos build their nests, 
choosing for that purpose certain holes which exist in the roof, some forty or fifty feet in 
height. 
The members of the genus Podargus are chiefly remarkable for the great width of their 
beaks, which at their base are broader than the forehead of the bird. The tip of the beak is 
hooked, and the upper mandible overlaps the lower at its edges. They are all handsome birds, 
and many of them are of considerable dimensions. 
The Tawny-shouldered Podargus is a native of Australia, and an admirable account 
of the bird, as well as good figures, may be found in Gould’s magnificent work on the Birds of 
Australia. 
