EUROPEAN GOATSUCKER. 395 
still retaining the wings like some Gulls and 
Terns, or a Swallow dipping in the water, until 
they are again required to give the stroke up- 
wards. All the while, the tail is much expan- 
ded, and is a conspicuous object in the male, 
from the white spots on the outer feathers. 
When in woods, or near trees, the flight is made 
in glides among the branches, or it flutters close 
to the summits, and seizes the various phalcenoe 
which play around. During the day, the Night 
Hawk rests on the ground among fern, broom, 
or heath, or on the low branch of a tree, on 
which it lies lengthwise, and close to the stem. 
When disturbed, the flight is low and fluttering, 
or it skims off to a short distance, and again 
alights. The nest is formed upon the ground 
by scraping or deepening some cavity already 
partly made, and the eggs, two in number, are 
laid on the bare surface. When the young are 
approached by night, before they are perfectly 
fledged, the old birds fly around very near, 
uttering incessantly their clicking cry, and mak- 
ing frequent dashes at the intruder like the 
Lapwing. On the continent of Europe, this bird 
is generally distributed, but we do not know its 
extra European range. 
It is scarcely possible to describe the plumage 
of the CaprimulgidcB so that it can be understood 
in all its parts, and one or two prominent mark- 
ings are often sufficient to make out the species. 
In our native bird, it is composed of shades of 
gray and brown, white and ochry yellow, and 
