Identifier: royalnaturalhist47lyde (find matches)
Title: The royal natural history
Year: 1893 (1890s)
Authors: Lydekker, Richard, 1849-1915 Sclater, Philip Lutley, 1829-1913 Frostick, W. B., former owner. DSI Brooks, W. T., former owner. DSI
Subjects: Zoology Natural history
Publisher: London and New York : Frederick Warne & Co.
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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autumn,living on the ground in damp situa-tions where the grass is long and thickenough to afford some slight cover,and is generally observed in parties offour or five individuals. Its flight isnoiseless, and performed by jerky,erratic movements. In Entre Rios,Mr. J. B. Barrows found it common insummer, arriving in August and leavingin May; and he states that whilehunting capivaras and armadillos l)ymoonlight, I had frequently goodopportunities for watching its move-ments. Its flight is nearly as irregularand as noiseless as that of a butterfly,while its beautiful tail is opened andshut in the same manner as with thescissor - tailed fl3catcher. Alightingfrequently on the ground, or on stonesor roots, it keeps up a continual butvery soft clucking, which is the onlynote uttered. It was most often seenin open grassy or sandy spots in thewoods, especially along the margins ofthe streams. By day it sits close onthe ground, and, if disturbed, only fliesa few yards, though it evidently sees
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46 PICARIAN BIRDS. well. Mr. O. N. Aplin found the eggs of this species in Uruguay; they were ofa creamy pink colour, delicately marked with lines and veins of pinkish lilac,something after the manner of buntings eggs. On the l7th of March, he writes, I saw a male with the long tail-feathers settle on a post of a wire fence whichpassed through part of the monte; ^ it sat lengthwise to the line of fence. Thecurious long swallow-tail of the male does not seem to incommode it at all, as thebird can turn and twist about in its rapid gliding flight in a wonderful way, andaccomplishes the difiicult aerial navigation of the thorny monte with all the easeand grace of our nightjar in an oak-wood. Nacunda Night- The single representative of this genus (Podager luicunda) jar. differs from all the preceding, in the slight development of the bristles of the gape, as well as by the shortness of the tail, which only equalsabout half the length of the wing. The general plumage is of the usual mottled

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