Nightjars, or goatsuckers, to give them their ancient and time-honoured name, are birds that lie up during the day in shady woods and issue forth at dusk on silent wing in order to hawk insects. The most characteristic feature of a nightjar is its enormous frog-like mouth; but it is not easy to make this out in the twilight or darkness, so that the observer has to rely on other features in order to recognise goatsuckers when he sees them on the wing, such as their long tail and wings, their curious silent fluttering flight, their dark plumage with white or buff in the wings and tail, their crepuscular and nocturnal habits, and their large size. Nightjars are as large as pigeons. The common species of the Nilgiris is the jungle nightjar (_Caprimulgus indicus_). For a couple of hours after nightfall, and the same period before dawn in the spring, this bird utters its curious call--a rapidly-repeated _cuck-chug-chuck-chuck_. Horsfield's nightjar (_C. macrurus_) is perhaps not sufficiently abundant on the Nilgiris to deserve mention in this essay. A bird which after dark makes a noise like that produced by striking a plank with a hammer can be none other than this species. THE CUCULIDAE OR CUCKOO FAMILY The koel (_Eudynamis honorata_) occurs on the Nilgiris and has been shot at Ootacamund. It betrays its presence by its loud _ku-il_, _ku-il_, _ku-il_. The common cuckoo of the hills is the hawk-cuckoo (_Hierococcyx varius_) or brain-fever bird. Its crescendo _brain-fever_, BRAIN-FEVER, BRAIN-FEVER prevents any person from failing to notice it. It victimises laughing-thrushes and babblers. It has a large cousin (_H. sparverioides_), which also occurs on the Nilgiris, and which likewise screams _brain-fever_ at the top of its voice. Both species are like sparrow-hawks in appearance. The handsome pied crested cuckoo (_Coccystes jacobinus_), which cuckolds the seven sisters, is a bird easy to identify. It has a conspicuous crest. The upper plumage is glossy black, save for a white wing bar and white tips to the tail feathers. The lower parts are white. The common coucal or crow-pheasant (_Centropus sinensis_) is a cuckoo that builds a nest and incubates its eggs. It is as big as a pheasant, and is known as the Griff's pheasant because new arrivals in India sometimes shoot it as a game bird. If naturalists could show that this cuckoo derived any benefit from its resemblance to a pheasant, I doubt not that they would hold it up as an example of protective mimicry. It is a black bird with rich chestnut wings. The black tail is nearly a foot long. The coucal is fairly abundant on the Nilgiris. THE PSITTACIDAE OR PARROT FAMILY