Nightjar (family Caprimulgidae)

BirdNocturnalInsectivore

Overview

Nightjars (family Caprimulgidae) are nocturnal and crepuscular birds renowned for their extraordinary camouflage and their haunting night-time calls. The European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus), shown here, has intricately patterned grey-brown plumage that mimics bark and dead leaves so closely that a resting bird can be almost impossible to spot. It has a tiny bill but an enormous gape, perfect for catching flying insects in the dark.

More often heard than seen, nightjars are best known by the strange, churring, mechanical song the males give on warm evenings.

Note: “nightjar” covers many species worldwide; details here use the European nightjar as a reference. Treat general statements as approximate and verify against authoritative sources.

Habitat & Range

Nightjars are found on most continents in a variety of open and semi-open habitats — heathland, woodland clearings, scrub, forest edges, and dry country. The European nightjar breeds across Europe and Asia in heaths and open woodland and migrates to sub-Saharan Africa for the winter. By day, nightjars rest on the ground or lengthwise along branches, relying on camouflage.

Diet

Nightjars are insectivores that feed on the wing, catching moths, beetles, and other flying insects in their wide gapes during flight at dusk and through the night. Bristles around the mouth may help funnel prey. They hunt with buoyant, agile, almost moth-like flight, sometimes around livestock or lights where insects gather.

Behavior

The nightjar's camouflage is its first line of defence: by day it sits motionless, eyes nearly closed, blending into bark, leaf litter, or soil. The male's long, churring song — a continuous mechanical trilling that rises and falls — is a classic sound of summer nights in its range, and he also claps his wings and shows white wing patches in display. Nightjars nest on the bare ground, laying their eggs directly on leaf litter rather than building a nest.

Human Interaction & Conservation

Old folklore wrongly accused nightjars of stealing milk from goats — the origin of the family name Caprimulgidae, meaning “goat-sucker” — but in reality they were simply catching insects around livestock. Many nightjars are hard to monitor because of their secretive habits, and some have declined with changes in land use and insect numbers. Consult authoritative sources for current status.

More photos of the nightjar