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CAPRIM ULGIFORMES 
Order — Caprimulgiformes. Goatsuckers 
This is a widely distributed suborder. A description of the one family 
represented in North America will serve for the recognition of the native 
species. 
FAMILY — CAPRIMULG1DAE. GOATSUCKERS 
General Description. The goatsuckers have flattened heads, very small bills, and 
enormous mouths, with gape extending to behind the eye (Figure 386). The feet are 
small and very weak and the middle claw pectinated or furnished with comb-like serrations 
as in the herons (Figure 387). The plumage is very soft in texture and coloured in wood- 
browns, neutral buffs, and greys. 
Distinctions. The above characters should be sufficient to distinguish this family as 
they are not similar to those of any other Canadian birds. 
Figure 386 
Bill and mouth of Whip-poor-will 
The goatsuckers were given their name from an old but mistaken 
belief that they sucked the milk from the goats in the pastures over which 
they were seen to wheel and circle, and their immense mouths and pink 
throats gave support to the popular impression. As a fact the birds that 
frequented the pastures were hawking for flying insects that had been 
attracted by the animals. The birds of this family are nocturnal or 
crepuscular. They feed entirely upon insects caught on the wing and 
seldom come to ground except to nest or for repose. Their feet are too 
small and weak to clasp a branch securely and in perching they usually sit 
on large branches, lengthwise instead of — as do most birds — crosswise. 
416. Chuck-will’s Widow. l’engoulevent de la Caroline. Anlrostomus caro- 
linensis. L, 12. A largo Whip-poor-will. See next species. 
Distinctions. Size; it is a considerably larger bird than the whip-poor-will; the 
long bristles about the mouth with hair-like branches at their base instead of being clean 
and bare throughout their length. 
Distribution. The southern states. Of accidental occurrence within our eastern 
borders. 
The basis for the inclusion of this bird here is the taking of a specimen 
at Pelee Point on Lake Erie and another at Pictou, Nova Scotia. It is 
rare and is similar to the whip-poor-will in appearance, habits, and notes. 
417. Whip-poor-will, le bois-potjrri. Anlrostomus vocif crus. L, 9-75. Coloured 
in soft, indefinite patterns of wood-browns and grey with suggestions of rufous and ochre. 
There is little broad pattern in the colouring, but much fine detail. On the underparts 
there is only a faint suggestion of barring, and the coloration of the whole bird is like that 
of a great brown moth. 
Distinctions. With its small bill, enormous gape, long mouth bristles (Figure 386), 
and soft, wood-brown coloration, possible of confusion only with the nighthawk. It is 
easily distinguished from that species by the following points: there is a white collar across 
the base of the throat, but the throat itself is dark; the last half of the tail feathers, except 
