My friend Dr. Bree having collected all the information known respecting this species, I cannot do better 
than quote the account he has given in his ‘ History of the Birds of Europe not observed in the British 
Isles ’ : — 
“The Red, or, as I prefer calling it, the Russet-necked Nightjar, is a native of Africa, but is occasionally 
found in various parts of Europe. The south of Spain, and in France, Provence, Marseilles, Nismes, and 
Montpellier are recorded as its European localities. To these, through the kindness of Dr. Leith Adams, 
I am able to add Malta, where a specimen was obtained by Charles Augustus Wright, Esq., from whose 
notes I copy the following : — 
“ ‘In the spring of 1861 a native bird-stulFer sent me word that a curious Goatsucker had been shot in 
the middle of May at Emtalitep, a valley situate on the southern coast of this island. When I saw it, the 
bird had been set up ; but the skin was quite fresh, and there was no doubt of its being a fine specimen of 
Caprimulgus rujicollis. In addition to the localities given by Degland, it is included in an unpublished 
list of Egyptian birds in my possession compiled from various sources by Mr. W. C. Medlycott. As 
far as my information extends, it has never been known to visit Sicily, or any part of Italy, except Nice, 
where it has been occasionally met with. There appears to be no previous record of its capture in Malta. 
I am glad to say the subject of this notice passed into my possession and now occupies a conspicuous 
position among my Birds of Malta. C. rujicollis may easily be distinguished from C. europmus by its larger 
size, general rufous colouring, the difference in the proportionate length of the primaries, by two large 
white spots on the throat, and the reddish collar from which it derives its name. C. europceus is a very 
common bird in Malta during the vernal and autumnal migrations; but, before the capture of the specimen 
above mentioned, C. nijicollis was unknown as a Maltese visitor.’ 
“ C. rujicollis is apparently a rare and local bird in Europe, except in Spain. ... In Mr. Tristram’s Notes 
from Eastern Algeria (Ibis, vol. ii. p. 374), I find the following : — ‘ As evening drew near, the Red-necked 
Goatsucker {Caprimulgus njicolli^ flitted about the glades ; and it is also mentioned by Captain Loche as 
inhabiting the three provinces of Algeria.’ 
“Dr. D. Antonio Machado, in his ‘ Catalogo de las Aves ohservadas en algunas provincias de Andalucia’ 
(Sevilla, 1851), says of this bird, ‘It inhabits the woody flat ground of the mountains; it appears in spring 
and leaves again in October : very common. It makes no nest, but places its eggs in hollows in the ground, 
or under the shelter of a shrub. It frequents the roads where there is much horse- or mule-traffic ; and the 
vulgar notion is that it feeds upon the dung which it finds there ; but it is much more probable that it is in 
search of the beetles which live among it, and which are its principal food. 
“ I have no account to offer of the nourishment, habits, and nesting of this bird ; hut they are not likely, 
I think, to differ much from those of its European and closely allied congener. There is the same wide 
mouth with its array of bristles, and the same comb to clean them with on the claw of its middle toe. 
What a beautiful adaptive provision is this comb ! Looked at through a lens its teeth are seen to be placed 
with perfect regularity, and are admirably adapted to their evident use — to clean the bristles, an act which 
Dr. Maclean tells me he has actually seen performed by our Goatsucker. The bristles are required as a 
fence for the large mouth, out of which otherwise many an insect would slip away. But the bristles get 
clogged up ; and the God who made this bird has provided it with as perfect a comb to clean them with as 
is to be found on the table of any lady in Europe.” 
The only additional information I find recorded respecting this species is comprised in the following 
brief notes from ‘The Ibis’ for 1865, 1866, and 1867: — 
In Mr. C. A. Wright’s second appendix to his List of Birds observed in Malta and Gozo, he says : — 
“ Caprimulgus rujicollis. A male specimen (the second I have met with of this fine Nightjar) was shot here 
on the 12th of May, 1865. It flew up against the balcony, and thus brought about its own destruction ; for 
the inmate, being a sportsman, immediately went out with a gun and killed it. It was in beautiful condition, 
and had scarcely a feather injured by the shot.” 
In the Rev. H. B. Tristram’s Notes on the Ornithology of Palestine, he writes, “ A skin of C. rujicollis 
was offered to me for sale by a Greek at Jerusalem, who assured me he had bought it in the flesh in the 
market there ; and as all his other birds were unquestionably natives, I had no reason to doubt his statement ; 
but his price was prohibitory.” 
Lastly, Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake, in his Notes on the Birds of Tangier and Eastern Morocco, states 
that this species is known to breed at Ceuta. 
The Plate represents both sexes, of the size of life. 
