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 o f the Birds o f Europe not observed in the British
Isles’ :—
“ The Red, or, as I prefer calling it, the Russet-necked Nightjar, is a native o f Africa, but is occasionally
found in various parts of Europe. The south o f Spain, and in France, Provence, Marseilles, Nismes, and
Montpellier are recorded as its European localities. To these, through the kindness o f 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 o f 1861 a native bird-stuffer sent me word that a curious Goatsucker had been shot in
the middle o f May a t Emtalitep, a valley situate on the southern coast o f this island. When I saw it, the
bird had been set up ; but the skin was quite fresh, and there was no doubt o f its being a fine specimen of
Caprimulgus ruficollis. In addition to the localities given by Degland, it is included in an unpublished
list o f 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 p art of Italy, except Nice,
where it has been occasionally met with. There appears to be no previous record o f its capture in Malta.
I am glad to say the subject o f this notice passed into my possession and now occupies a conspicuous
position among my Birds o f Malta. C. ruficollis may easily be distinguished from C. europesus by its larger
size, general rufous colouring, the difference in the proportionate length o f the primaries, by two large
white spots on the throat, and the reddish collar from which it derives its name. C. europteus is a very
common bird in Malta during the vernal and autumnal migrations; but, before the capture o f the specimen
above mentioned, C. ruficollis was unknown as a Maltese visitor.’
“ C. ruficollis 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 ntficollis') flitted about the glades; and it is also mentioned by Captain Loche as
inhabiting the three provinces o f Algeria.’
Dr. D. Antonio Machado, in his ‘ Catalogo de las Aves observadas en algunas provincias de Andaluciu ’
(Sevilla, 1851), says of this bird, ‘ I t inhabits the woody flat ground o f 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 o f a shrub. It frequents the roads where there is much horse- or mule-traffic; and the
vulgar notion is th at it feeds upon the dung which it finds th ere ; but it is much more probable that it is in
search o f the beetles which live among it, and which are its principal food.
“ I have no account to offer of the nourishment, habits, and nesting o f this bird ; but they are not likely,
I think, to differ much from those o f its European and closely allied congener. There is the same wide
mouth with its array o f bristles, and the same comb to clean them with on the claw o f its middle toe.
What a beautiful adaptive provision is this comb! Looked a t 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 o f which otherwise many an insect would slip away. But the bristles get
clogged u p ; 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 o f 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:-#'V*i
In Mr. C. A. Wright’s second appendix to his List o f Birds observed in Malta and Gozo, he says
“ Caprimulgus ruficollis. A male specimen (th e second I have met with o f this fine Nightjar) was shot here
on the 12th o f May, 1865. I t 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 o f C. ruficollis
was offered to me for sale by a Greek a t Jerusalem, who assured me he had bought it in the flesh in the
market th e re ; and as all his other birds were unquestionably natives, I had no reason to doubt his sta tement;
but his price was prohibitory.”
Lastly, Mr. C. F. Tyrwhitt Drake, in his Notes on the Birds o f Tangier and Eastern Morocco, states
that this species is known to breed at Ceuta.
The Plate represents both sexes, of the size o f life.