. Animate creation : popular edition of "Our living world" : a natural history. Zoology; Zoology. 96 THE WHITE-BELLIED NIGHTJAR. some bird, and is generally found in the deepest bushes upon the banks of rivers of New South Wales. Its scientific title is Podargus plumiferus. The New Holland Goat-sucker is a very fine and beautifully marked bird, its plumage being richly mottled with black and brown uj^on its upper surface, while the under surface is rusty graj", curiously variegated with buff. The tail is barred with darker bands. This bird is very owl-like in its appearance and
. Animate creation : popular edition of "Our living world" : a natural history. Zoology; Zoology. 96 THE WHITE-BELLIED NIGHTJAR. some bird, and is generally found in the deepest bushes upon the banks of rivers of New South Wales. Its scientific title is Podargus plumiferus. The New Holland Goat-sucker is a very fine and beautifully marked bird, its plumage being richly mottled with black and brown uj^on its upper surface, while the under surface is rusty graj", curiously variegated with buff. The tail is barred with darker bands. This bird is very owl-like in its appearance and many of its habits, and has therefrom received the popular title of Owlet Nightjar. In the shape of its head, and the steady upright carriage, it bears a great resemblance to the Coquimbo Owl, a likeness wliich is further ^^r:. GKEAT-EAEED ;«KA<wto»iM auritus. carried out by the shai-p, angry hiss which it emits when irritated. Like the owls, it also possesses the habit of twisting its head so that the beak is brought on a level with the spine. The New Holland Goat-sucker resides in the hoUoAv branches of the eucalypti, technically called "spouts" by the colonists. When the sportsman wishes to know whether a " spout" is occupied by one of these birds, he has nothing more to do than to administer a sharp tap to the branch with a stick or axe. Should the bird be at home, it runs quickly to the entrance, pops out its head, and, after surveying the intruder for a moment, retires into the seclusion of its domicile. It will repeat this process several times, but at last loses patience at the frequent interruptions, and fairly takes to fiight. In these "spouts" the eggs are laid, being placed simply upon the soft decaying wood. The eggs are white in color, and from three to five in number. There are generally two broods of young in the year. The bird is nocturnal, and its principal food consists of insects, mostly of the coleopterou
Size: 1726px × 1447px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorbr, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology
