RED-COLLARED GOATSUCKER.

Caprimulgus ruficollis, Temm.

L’Engoulevent a collier roux.

Turovucu the kindness of Mr. John Natterer and the Directors of the Imperial Cabinet at Vienna, who have
liberally forwarded the original specimen for our use, we are enabled to give a figure of this interesting
species of Goatsucker, which is so extremely rare, that we know of no examples in the museums of this
country, nor in any of those on the Continent, with the exception of Vienna. Northern Africa is, we doubt
not, its natural habitat, whence it may occasionally pass into Europe, but so rarely that no other examples are
on record than those referred to in the following notes, which accompanied the above-mentioned specimen, and
which we prefer giving in M. Natterer’s own words.

* Caprimulgus ruficollis: male. Shot the 14th of July, 1817, some miles distant from Algeziras, in the oak-
woods by daylight. Iris dark brown; legs reddish grey; nostrils oval with their borders much elevated ;
length, 12 inches 8 lines; extent of the wings, 22+ inches; the tail exceeding the wings by 1+ inch.

‘« Another male was shot on the 20th of July in the valley of the Rio del Miel near Algeziras, flying very
low, an hour after sunset. Length, 13 inches and 3 lines ; extent of the wings, 231 inches ; the tail exceeding
the wings by 1 inch and 8 lines.

“The female I shot while flying near the same spot on the 2lst of July. Length, 12 inches and 8 lines ;
extent of the wings, 22+ inches; the tail exceeding the wings by 2 inches. The female closely resembles the
male, differing only in having less white on the throat; the white tips of the two outer tail-feathers only 8
lines long, and tinged with brown on the outer web ; the white spots on the three first primary quills smaller
and tinged with ochre, and without any corresponding mark on the outer web as in the male; the remainder
of the plumage is exactly the same as that of the male.

“The name of the bird in the part of Spain where it was killed is Samala. It seems to be a very rare
bird, for I passed several nights in the adjacent woods without discovering any more examples.”

The male may be thus described :

Forehead, sides, and back of the head, back, and six centre tail-feathers ashy brown, with numerous
extremely fine freckles of dark brown, which are most decided on the tail-feathers, where they assume the
form of irregular bars; feathers on the centre of the head dark brown with paler edges freckled with a darker
tint; throat, sides of the face, ear-coverts, and back of the neck rufous, which is very rich on the latter,
where it forms a decided collar; from the angle of the mouth to the back of the neck passes a narrow line of
white ; on each side of the neck an irregular patch of white feathers with a crescent mark of deep brown at
the tip; wing-coverts the same as the back, but having the tip of each feather rufous ; scapularies dark brown,
with a broad margin of buff on their outer edge, and with grey freckled with dark brown on the inner ;
primaries dull brown; with a broad white spot on the inner web, forming a bar on the under side of the wings
and a faint indication of it on the outer web; the secondaries and the tips of the primaries, particularly on
their inner webs, having irregular and faint markings of grey; two outer tail-feathers on each side dark
brown, irregularly blotched on the outer web with reddish brown and largely tipped with white; all the

under-surface pale rufous, with irregular transverse arrow-shaped markings of deep brown, which are most
numerous on the breast ; bill and feet reddish grey.
We have figured the male of the natural size.