Dr. Exton also sent us an egg taken from the abdomen of a female
shot by him, and he writes :—“ I can give no assistance in the collecting
of eggs. To the native mind there is something tangible in
a young bird—all sorts of fledglings have been brought to me,
Hawks, Owls, Hombills, &c.—but the enquiry for eggs is generally
looked upon as a mild form of lunacy, partly it may be arising from
eggs (even those of poultry) not being admissible as food for men,
and only under exceptional circumstances for women and children.”
The habits of this bird seem exactly to resemble those of the
common Nightjar, like which species, says Mr. Buckley, “ it has a
jarring note, and is fond of settling in the paths: it roosts on the
ground during the day.” The eggs, according to the same gentleman,
are pink, mottled all over with greyish brown. Canon Tristram
describes the egg as of a rich cream-colour, with faint fawn-coloured
cloudings all over it. This latter egg was sent by Mr. Ayres, who
found it “ laid on the bare ground, without the slightest pretence to
a nest.”
G. rufigenis is like a miniature G. europceus, being smaller, and
having the under wing-coverts nearly uniform. Total length, 9‘5
inches; wing, 6-35. Four primaries are always spotted with white,
and sometimes traces are apparent on the fifth.
Fig. Smith, HI. Zool. S. Air. pi. 100.
81. C aprimulgus ferv idu s , Sharpe. Fiery-necked Nightjar.
This new species, four specimens of which are in the British
Museum, was obtained by the late Mr. Andersson in Damara Land,
and has hitherto been confounded with G. rufigena. It is, however,
to be distinguished from this species by the characters mentioned
below, and, unless Mr. Andersson has erred in the sexing of the
specimens, it differs from the above mentioned bird in having the
characteristic white spots present in both sexes. Two females were
procured by bim at Elephant Yley on the 5th and 28th of October,
1859, another female at Otjoro on the 30th of November, while the
fourth was shot near Ovampo Land on the 2nd of February in the
same year.
This is the species identified by Messrs. Strickland and Sclater as
C. pectoralis (Contr. Orn. 1852, p. 143) and is likewise the G. pec-
toralis of Mr. Andersson’s work (p. 45). He writes concerning it:
CAPRIMULGUS LENTIGINOSES. 87
—“ This species is tolerably common in the north of Damara Land.
It is usually found singly, and is partial to open roads and paths
about dusk. Its food consists of beetles and other insects, their
eggs, and small seeds.” Mr. Gurney has correctly identified the
G. da/marensis of Strickland (I. c.) with G. rufigena, and the determination
of the other Damara Goatsuckers has been rendered easy
to us by the kindness of Mr. Salvin, who allowed us to see all the
Strickland specimens.
This bird may be briefly described as being very closely allied to
G. rufigena, but at once distinguishable by its uniform clear golden-
buff cheeks; the latter in G. rufigena are black slightly streaked
withrufous. Total length, 9’5 inches; wing,6-7; tail, 4'8; tarsus, 0'7.
82. Caprimtjlgus l en t ig in o s e s . Freckled Nightjar.
We never personally fell in with this large Nightjar in the Colony,
and Mr. Andersson says :—“ I am inclined to think that this is a
scarce bird in South Africa, though, at the same time, somewhat
widely diffused, as I have obtained specimens in every part traversed
by myself.” The only example, however, of Mr. Andersson’s which
we have seen, is one from the river Cunene, formerly in the editor’s
collection and now in the British Museum. Sir Andrew Smith originally
procured the species in Great Namaqua Land, where he got
two specimens; “ the one, when it was shot, was seated on a high
road, and the other was skimming around a pool of stagnant water,
and occasionally darting from its general course as if to capture
insects. Many other individuals, probably of the same species,
were observed in the same country; but as they all kept so extremely
close to the edge of the brushwood, and never appeared till
the dusk was about giving way to darkness, two specimens only
were obtained.”
This is a large-sized species, as well as a very variable one. Total
length, 10-6 inches; wing, 7’2 ; tail, 5’4 ; tarsus, 0-8. Its large
size prevents its being mistaken for any other South African Nightjar
excepting 0. europceus, but it may at once be distinguished from
the latter bird by the small size of the white spots on the primaries,
four of which have the white markings: on the tail-feathers there
are no distinct white tips to the outer ones, only an indication of
white being present.
Fig. Smith, 111. Zool. S. Afr. pi. 101.