e information known respecting this species, [ cannot do better

» frie ; -e having collected all th A
ee ee ‘ History of the Birds of Europe not observed in the British

than quote the account he has given in his
Isles’ :—

« The Red, or, as I prefer Cé
found in various parts of Europe. of
Montpellier are recorded as its European localities. . a
I am able to add Malta, where a specimen was obtained by Charles Augustus Wright, Esq., from whose

‘lling it, the Russet-necked Nightjar, is a native of Africa, but 1s occasionally
oe 7 5 . We r

The south of Spain, and in France, Provence, Marseilles, Nismes, and
To these, through the kindness of Dr. Leith Adams,

notes I copy the following :— 7

«Tn the spring of 1861 a native bird-stuffer sent me word that a curious Goatsucker had been uo in
the middle of May at Emtalitep, a valley situate on the southern coast of this ea When I a it, the
bird had been set up; but the skin was quite fresh, and there was no doubt of its being fine specimen of
In addition to the localities given by Degland, it is included in an unpublished
ssion compiled from various sources by Mr. W. C. Medlycott. As

been known to visit Sicily, or any part of Italy, except Nice,

Caprimulgus ruficollis.
list of Egyptian birds in my posse
far as my information extends, it has never
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 a occupies a Cue
position among my Birds of Malta. C. ruficollis may easily be distinguished from C. europeus 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. europeus is a very
common bird in Malta during the vernal and autumnal migrations ; but, before the capture of the specimen
above mentioned, C. rwficollis was unknown as a Maltese visitor.’

«©, yuficollis is apparently a rare and local bird in Europe, except in Spain. . . . In Mr. Tristram’s Notes
from Eastern Algeria (Ibis, vol. ii, p. 3874), I find the following :—‘ As evening drew near, the Red-necked
Goatsucker (Caprimulgus ruficolls ) 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 observadas 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.’

«‘T have no account to offer of the nourishment, habits, and nesting of this bird; but 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 ruficollis. 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 Bpartsmans immediately went out with agun and killedit. 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. rificollis
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 bis statement :
. . . . : :
but his price was prohibitory.”

Lastly, Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake, in his Notes on the Birds of Tangier and Eastern Mor

at thi ies 1 occo, states
that this species is known to breed at Ceuta. Or states

The Plate represents both sexes, of the size of life.

ss oak *
on -— ae xt OE WAN eg ees PN She 5 Rs SL

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