Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk tale that they sucked the milk from goats, or bugeaters, their primary source of food being insects. Some New World species are called nighthawks. The English word "nightjar" originally referred to the European nightjar.
The nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, native to the western hemisphere. The term "nighthawk", first recorded in the King James Bible of 1611, was originally a local name in England for the European nightjar. Its use in the Americas refers to members of the genus Chordeiles and related genera was first recorded in 1778.
Jerdon's nightjar is a medium-sized nightjar species native to southern India and Sri Lanka. Formerly considered as a subspecies of the long-tailed nightjar, it is best recognized by its distinctive call which sounds like a wooden plank being beaten periodically with each note ending in a quaver. The common name commemorates Thomas C. Jerdon who described the species.
Macrodipteryx was a genus of African nightjars consisting of two species: the pennant-winged nightjar and the standard-winged nightjar. They inhabit subtropical woodlands, and the males of both species acquire strikingly elongated primaries in the breeding season. However, the former genus is now considered to be a synonym of Caprimulgus Linnaeus, 1758.
The Satanic nightjar, also Heinrich's nightjar, satanic eared-nightjar, Sulawesi eared-nightjar or diabolical nightjar is a mid-sized, spotted, dark brown nightjar endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The species was discovered in 1931 by Gerd Heinrich, a German natural historian who collected a single female holotype from Mount Klabat on the Minahasa peninsula of Northern Sulawesi. In the following decades, there were a few unconfirmed reports of sightings and calls of the bird, but it did not officially resurface until 1996 when David Bishop and Jared Diamond positively identified it in Lore Lindu National Park by its sound. Making the visible rediscovery available for multiple people in the tour group including poet and writer Jan Zwaaneveld. This increased the bird's estimated range by 750 km. It has since been observed and described in the literature multiple times.
The eared nightjars are a small group of nocturnal birds in the nightjar family, although the taxonomy is uncertain. There are seven species, mainly found in forest and scrub from China to Australia. 5 species are placed in the genus, Eurostopodus, the other two species in Lyncornis. They are long winged birds with plumage patterned with grey and brown to camouflage them when resting on the ground. They feed on insects caught in flight. A single white egg is laid directly on the ground and incubated by both adults. The chicks can walk soon after hatching.
The Caprimulginae or typical nightjars are a nocturnal bird subfamily within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae. They are medium-size with long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They usually nest on the ground. They feed on flying insects.
The white-tailed nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in the tropic regions of Central and South America.
The large-tailed nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found along the southern Himalayan foothills, eastern South Asia, Southeast Asia and northern Australia. This species is a resident of the countries of Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
The white-winged nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.
The spotted nightjar or spotted eared-nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It inhabits much of mainland Australia and has also been found in several Indonesian islands. Its natural habitats are open forests and woodlands, scrub, spinifex and tussock grassland, savannah woodland and mangroves.
The white-throated nightjar or white-throated eared-nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is endemic to eastern Australia; it is a non-breeding winter visitor in Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.
Lurocalis is a genus of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. The species are found in Central and South America.
The short-tailed nighthawk is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Mexico, in every Central American country except El Salvador, in Trinidad and Tobago, and in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.
The Yucatan poorwill is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in the Yucatán Peninsula of Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico.
The nacunda nighthawk is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and heavily degraded former forest.
Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the Western Ghats, India, located in Kollam district of Kerala and comes under the control of Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve. It was established on 25 August 1984 and comprises 172.403 square kilometres (66.565 sq mi). The name is a corruption of the Chengurinji, a tree endemic to the region. The sanctuary has an artificial lake of nearly 18.69Sq.km size and also surrounded by the reservoir of Thenmala Dam. The Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary is a treasure house of plant diversity. About 1257 species of flowering plants belonging to more than 150 families are reported from this sanctuary of which 309 species are endemic to Western Ghats. Birds from 267 species including migratory, endemic and endangered species have been reported here.
Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary located in Kalahandi district and a popular tourist attraction of Odisha in India. Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary is about 15 km from Bhawanipatna, the district headquarters of Kalahandi district.
Antrostomus is a genus of nightjars formerly included in the genus Caprimulgus. They are medium-sized nocturnal birds with long pointed wings, short legs and short bills.
Lyncornis is a genus of eared nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae.
