European Nightjar
From SongbirdReMixWiki
(Difference between revisions)
Current revision (21:09, 7 December 2015) (view source) |
|||
Poets sometimes use the nightjar as an indicator of warm summer nights, as in George Meredith's "Love in the Valley"... | Poets sometimes use the nightjar as an indicator of warm summer nights, as in George Meredith's "Love in the Valley"... | ||
| - | :: ''Lone on the fir-branch, his rattle-notes unvaried | + | :: ''Lone on the fir-branch, his rattle-notes unvaried'' |
| - | :: Brooding o'er the gloom, spins the brown eve-jar'' | + | :: ''Brooding o'er the gloom, spins the brown eve-jar'' |
In Dylan Thomas's "Fern Hill"... | In Dylan Thomas's "Fern Hill"... | ||
| - | :: ''and all the night long I heard, | + | :: ''and all the night long I heard,'' |
| - | :: blessed among stables, | + | :: ''blessed among stables,'' |
| - | :: the nightjars flying with the ricks,'' | + | :: ''the nightjars flying with the ricks,'' |
In Wordsworth's "Calm is the fragrant air"... | In Wordsworth's "Calm is the fragrant air"... | ||
| - | :: ''The busy dor-hawk chases the white moth | + | :: ''The busy dor-hawk chases the white moth'' |
| - | :: With burring note. Nightjars only sing when perched'' | + | :: ''With burring note. Nightjars only sing when perched'' |
Thomas Hardy referenced the eerie silence of a hunting bird in "Afterwards": | Thomas Hardy referenced the eerie silence of a hunting bird in "Afterwards": | ||
| - | :: ''If it be in the dusk when, like an eyelid's soundless blink | + | :: ''If it be in the dusk when, like an eyelid's soundless blink'' |
| - | :: The dewfall-hawk comes crossing the shades to alight | + | :: ''The dewfall-hawk comes crossing the shades to alight'' |
| - | :: Upon the wind-warped upland thorn.'' | + | :: ''Upon the wind-warped upland thorn.'' |
Caprimulgus and the old name "''goatsucker''" both refer to the myth, old even in the time of Aristotle, that nightjars suckled from nanny goats, which subsequently ceased to give milk or went blind. This ancient belief is reflected in nightjar names in other European languages, such as German ''Ziegenmelker'' and Italian ''succiacapre'', which also mean “''goatsucker''”, but despite its antiquity, it has no equivalents in Arab, Chinese or Hindu traditions. It is likely that the birds were attracted by insects around domestic animals, and, as strange nocturnal creatures, were then blamed for any misfortune that befell the beast. | Caprimulgus and the old name "''goatsucker''" both refer to the myth, old even in the time of Aristotle, that nightjars suckled from nanny goats, which subsequently ceased to give milk or went blind. This ancient belief is reflected in nightjar names in other European languages, such as German ''Ziegenmelker'' and Italian ''succiacapre'', which also mean “''goatsucker''”, but despite its antiquity, it has no equivalents in Arab, Chinese or Hindu traditions. It is likely that the birds were attracted by insects around domestic animals, and, as strange nocturnal creatures, were then blamed for any misfortune that befell the beast. | ||
