Overview

Gray Nightjar: Small, gray-brown nightjar, black streaks above, black bars below, gray-white moustache and throat. Long wings, gray-white shoulder, rufous in flight feathers, white patch in primaries. Long, black barred, gray-brown tail, gray-white tip. Female has rufous moustache and on throat. Juvenile like adult but more pale spotting.

Voice Text

"kreek", "tauk tok tac-tac-tac"

• Other common names for this species have included Indian Jungle Nightjar, Japanese Nightjar, and Ceylon Highland Nightjar.
• The Palau Nightjar is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of its South Asian relative, the Jungle Nightjar.
• This species was first described in 1845 by Temminck and Schlegel.
• A group of nightjars is collectively known as a "kettle" of nightjars.

Nightjars (Caprimulgidae)

ORDER

Such nocturnal birds as the potoos, frogmouths, and nightjars are members of the four families that make up the CAPRIMULGIFORMES (pronounced kap-ri-mulgi-FOR-meez).

FAMILY TAXONOMY

The nightjars are placed in the caprimulgidae (pronounced kap-ri-

MULG-i-dee), a group of ninety-two species (including two extinct species) in twenty genera found on every continent except Antarctica. A few species also occur on islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including Palau.

SOUTH PACIFIC-PALAU

One species of nightjar in one genus lives in the South Pacific and on Palau, the Palau Nightjar.

KNOWN FOR

Nightjars are known for their nocturnal behavior and highly camouflaged, cryptic plumage.

PHYSICAL

Members of the caprimulgidae are medium birds with very short and very broad beaks with a small hook on the tip. They have long wings, tails, and very short legs.

COLORATION

Nightjars have mottled gray, brown, and buff plumage with fine black barring and patterns. Many species also have patches of white on the throat, wings, tail, and belly.

GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT

Nightjar species use a wide variety of open, edge, and forested habitats.

MIGRATION

Members of this family that breed in tropical regions are sedentary, whereas the handful of species that breed in temperate zones migrate to tropical climates for the winter.

HABITS

Nightjars are usually seen alone or in pairs although nighthawk species will flock together while feeding and during migration. Nightjars forage for insects by catching them in flight with their wide mouths.

CONSERVATION

Most nightjars have stable populations although a few species with limited ranges are believed to be threatened with habitat loss, including the Palau Nightjar.

INTERESTING FACTS

The nocturnal behavior and cryptic plumage of nightjars have posed challenges to assessing the conservation status and distribution of some species. The Common Poorwill is one of the only bird species known to hibernate. The camouflaged plumage shown by members of this family helps them blend in with their surroundings during the day. Members of this family are also known as “goatsuckers” because of a commonly held belief that nightjars sucked milk from goats.

Artist

Chris Vest