78 
CAPRIMULGIN^. CAPRIMULGUS. 
witli the edges inflected toward the end ; lower mandible | 
with the angle long and very wide, the dorsal line ascend- i 
ing, the crura extremely narrow, the narrow tip curved up- ! 
wards ; gape-line commencing beneath the posterior angle | 
of the eye. Tongue very small, triangular; oesophagus | 
rather wide, without crop ; proventriculus large ; stomach I 
very large, round, membranous, with the epithelium thin ; | 
intestine short; coeca large, oblong, narrow at the com-i| 
mencement. Nostrils linear, with a horny operculum, in the ;i 
fore part of the large, sparsely feathered, nasal membrane. 1 
Eyes very large. Apertures of ears very large, semilunar. | 
Head very large, depressed, flattened above ; neck rather | 
short ; body very small. F eet extremely small ; tarsus very 
short, feathered anteriorly to near the base ; first toe very ! 
small, anterior toes webbed at the base, the third much' i 
longer ; claws very small, arched, compressed, that of the i 
middle toe proportionally longer, curved outwards, and pec- ! 
tinate on its inner thin edge. Plumage fall, very soft, I 
blended ; large flattened bristles along the base of the bill ; : 
wings very long, narrow, with the second quill longest, the ij 
first little shorter ; tail very long, of ten broad rounded fea- I 
thers. I 
The Goatsuckers fly in the dusk, in gloomy weather, or in i 
the shade of woods, or by moonlight, feeding on insects, ,lj 
especially moths and beetles, which they seize on wing, j 
Their feet not being formed for grasping, they seldom perch j 
transversely on a branch. They nestle in a bare place on i 
the ground, laying two broadly elliptical eggs. Species occur i 
in most parts of the globe, but are not numerous in the colder li 
or temperate parts. 
36 . Caprimulgus europ^cjs. European Goatsucker. 
Upper parts grey, minutely dotted and undulated with i 
dusky, and variegated with yellowish-red, the head and back . 
longitudinally streaked with black ; lower parts transversely 
undulated with light red and dusky. In the male, the outer 
three quills have a large white spot on the inner web, and the 
two lateral tail-feathers are largely tipped with white. The 
young in their first plumage are similar to the female, but 
somewhat darker. The claw of the middle toe has about ten 
teeth, but frequently the tip is broken. 
