In the same order come the Goatsuckers, or Nightjars, wide-mouthed, swift-flying, insectivorous birds, which have an almost cosmopolitan range, being absent only from New Zealand and the Polynesian Islands. These Owl-like birds have very long wings, thus indicating their rapid flight. They are very valuable insect destroyers, though they are sometimes called "Night Hawks," and are shot by people who foolishly shoot hawks. Many destructive insects fly only at night, and these night-flying birds are a necessity to maintain the balance of Nature. Swifts are cosmopolitan birds. One Swiftlet is world-famous on account of its saliva-built nest, which is the edible swallows' nest we used to read about. This bird occasionally visits Queensland. Two of the Australian birds breed in Japan. They are essentially creatures of the air; their long, pointed wings, shown much longer than the tail, indicate great speed. Gould said that a Swift might be hawking for insects over Victoria one hour, and over Tasmania the next hour; that is, it can cross Bass Strait in an hour. The spines at the end of the short tail feathers are thought to assist as a prop when the bird settles on a wall or a cliff face. In some Swifts the four toes point forward; this helps also in cliff clinging. Though so common in the upper air, Swifts have not, in Victoria, been recorded as having been seen to alight. Most birds have hollow bones which are filled with air. It was claimed by those who like to find a use for everything that this was an obvious adaptation for purposes of flight, but when one reflects that, in some of the Ostrich and Emu group, the members of which never fly, the bones are strongly "pneumatic," while in Terns and Swifts, and some other flying birds, the bones are solid, one must hesitate before generalizing even about such an apparently obvious matter. Swifts are in no way related to Swallows, but are close to Humming Birds, which are born with a wide, Swift-like mouth. ==== [Page 104] [Illustration: [217] [218] [219] [220] [221] [222]] ORDER XVIII.--CORACIIFORMES, PICARIAN BIRDS. F. 78. _Steatornithidae_, Oil-Bird, Guacharo, 1 sp. Nl. F. 79. PODARGIDAE (6), FROGMOUTHS, 32 sp.--20(20)A., 12(12)O. 4 7 =217 Tawny Frogmouth= (Tawny-shouldered), Mopoke (e), _Podargus strigoides_, A.T. Stat. c. _open forest_ 18 Upper brown freckled grayish-white and darker-brown; wings lighter, spotted black and buff; tawny patch on wing; tail tawny-brown barred blackish-brown; wide bill brown; nocturnal; f., sim. Insects. "Oom, oom." 2 13 =218 Owlet Nightjar= (Little), Banded Goatsucker (e), Moth Owl (e), _Ægotheles novae-hollandiae_, A., T. Stat. r. _timber_ 8.5 Blackish-gray; tail faintly banded; obscure collar; short, wide bill; bristles round bill; nocturnal; f., sim. Insects, mosquitoes, moths. F. 80. _Leptosomatidae_, Kirombos, Madagascar Rollers, 2 sp. E.