_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]
CAPRIMULGUS MACRURUS, _Horsf._
Large-tailed Goatsucker.
_Caprimulgus macrurus_, Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 142.
This, the only true _Caprimulgus_ known to inhabit Australia, is I
believe identical with the _C. macrurus_ of Dr. Horsfield, whose
specimens were procured in Java, while those I possess were obtained at
Port Essington, where the bird is moderately plentiful; hence it would
appear that it has an unusually wide range of habitat. It inhabits the
open parts of the forest and is strictly nocturnal; it mostly rests on
the ground on the shady side of a large tree close to the roots, and if
disturbed several times in succession takes to the branch of one of the
largest trees. I have never seen the eggs of this species, but I possess
a young bird apparently only a few days old, which Mr. Gilbert found
lying under a shrubby tree, without any nest or even a blade of grass
near it; the little creature was so similar in colour to that of the
ground upon which it was lying, that it was with difficulty detected,
and Mr. Gilbert was only induced to search for it from the very peculiar
manner in which the old bird rose, the reluctance it evinced to leave
the spot, and its hovering over the place it had risen from, instead of
flying off to the distance of nearly a hundred yards, as it usually
does.
The sexes are distinguished from each other by the greater extent of the
white mark on the primaries and outer tail-feathers; in other parts of
the plumage and in size there is no difference.
Its food consists of moths, flies and coleopterous insects, which are
taken during flight.
Head brownish grey, very minutely freckled with black; the feathers down
the middle of the head and occiput with a large broad stripe of black
down the centre; lores, space surrounding the eyes and ear-coverts
reddish brown; on each side of the neck a broad stripe of rich buff
barred with black; a narrow line of white passes below the angle of the
mouth; chin brown; across the throat a band of white bounded below by
black, the extremities of the white feathers being of that hue; centre
of the back dark brown, freckled with black and buff; shoulders blackish
brown; wing-coverts freckled grey, buff and black, each with a large
spot of buff at the tip; primaries and secondaries blackish brown, the
former crossed at their base, and the latter throughout their entire
length, with reddish buff; the second and third primaries crossed near
their base with a broad band of white, stained with buff on the outer
margin; the first primary with a spot of white only on the margin of the
inner web; the first three primaries freckled at their tips, and the
remainder for the entire length of their inner webs with brownish grey;
scapularies freckled grey and brown, with a large patch of deep dull
black on their outer webs, margined externally with buff; rump freckled
with dark brown and grey, and with an interrupted line of darker brown
down the centre of each feather; two centre tail-feathers minutely and
coarsely freckled with very dark brown; the next on each side very dark
brown, crossed by irregular bands of freckled brownish grey and black;
the next on each side similar, but the bands narrower and less
conspicuous; the two outer ones on each side very dark brown for three
parts of the length, the apical portion being white, stained with
freckled buff and black on the outer webs; the basal or dark portion
crossed by narrow indistinct and irregular bars of deep buff; breast
freckled buff, grey and brown, some of the feathers in the centre of the
breast largely tipped with buff; abdomen and under tail-coverts deep
buff, crossed by narrow regular bands of dark brown; irides blackish
brown; bill black; feet and claws reddish brown.
The Plate represents a male and a female of the natural size.
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