🐦

Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeus

Not yet photographed by the community

Nocturnal heathland bird with a churring call.

Species Profile

Red List (Birds of Conservation Concern)

Lifespan: 5–10 years in the wild
Size & Weight: 26–28 cm, wingspan 52–58 cm; 75–100 g
Habitat: Open woodland, heathland, and scrubland with bare ground and scattered trees, particularly favoring sandy or gravelly soils.
UK Distribution: Summer breeding visitor to southern England, Midlands, and Wales, arriving late May and departing August–September. Absent from northern Britain and Ireland.
Diet: Exclusively insectivorous, feeding on flying insects caught in flight, particularly moths, midges, and gnats.
Prey: Moths, midges, mayflies, gnats, and other small flying insects
Predators: Sparrowhawks, tawny owls, and occasionally carrion crows; eggs and chicks vulnerable to foxes and badgers
Mating Season: May to August
Breeding: Lays 2 eggs directly on bare ground with no nest construction; incubation period 17–21 days; single brood per year; chicks fledge at 16–18 days
Behaviour: Strictly nocturnal, emerging at dusk to hunt on the wing with erratic, bat-like flight. Famous for its distinctive churring call, delivered from a perch and lasting 1–2 minutes. Highly cryptic daytime roosters, relying on camouflage plumage.

Did You Know?

•The name 'nightjar' derives from the bird's loud, jarring churring call produced during the breeding season, often likened to an insect or machinery
•Nightjars have specially adapted feet with a comb-like middle toe claw used for grooming and catching insects mid-flight
•They have enormous eyes relative to head size, adapted for low-light hunting, and lack a crop like other birds
•UK populations have declined by over 50% since the 1980s due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and changing woodland management practices
•Nightjars are migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa and returning to the same breeding territories year after year

🐦

No photos yet

Be the first to photograph a Nightjar and share it with the community.