The burring Dor-Hawk round and round is wheeling:
That solitary bird
Is all that can be heard
In silence, deeper far than deepest noon.
One point in the economy of the Nightjar is still disputed (1908) the use which it makes of its serrated middle claw. White, and another observer, quoted by Yarrell, have seen the bird while on the wing capture insects with the claw and transfer them to the mouth. Wilson, on the other hand, states that the use of this singular structure is to enable the bird to rid itself of vermin, to which it is much exposed by its habit of remaining at rest during the heat of the day. As he has actually observed a bird in captivity thus employing its claw, it would follow that the same organ is used for a twofold purpose.
The Nightjar is a migratory bird and the last to arrive in this country, appearing not before the middle of May. It is found more or less sparingly in all parts of England, especially those which abound most in woods interspersed with heaths and brakes. In the wooded valleys of Devonshire it is of frequent occurrence, and here it has been known to remain so late in the season as November, whereas from most other localities it migrates southwards about the middle or end of September. It builds no nest, but lays its singularly beautiful eggs, two in number, on the ground among the dry herbage of the common.
Other names by which it is locally known are Fern Owl, Wheeler, and Nightchurr.
[18] Mr. Bell informs me that it is so like the croak of the Natter-Jack Toad, that he has more than once doubted from which of the two the sound proceeded.
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