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Eurasian Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) — photo 1 of 3
© P.Taszynski CC BY-SA 3.0

Nightjars

Eurasian Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeus

Voice

Song

Sonothèque ADVL

0:17

Call

Thomas SIGNEAU

1:17

Song

Lionel TRIBOULIN

0:26

How to recognize it

  • Thrush-sized, slim body, long pointed wings and a relatively long tail

  • Grey-brown camouflage with streaks and bars; hard to spot on leaf litter or bark

  • Very small bill, huge gape; rests lengthwise along branches or flat on the ground

  • Male shows white wing and tail marks in flight; call sharp “cuick”, song a steady churr

About the species

The Eurasian Nightjar is a quiet, hard-to-notice night-time inhabitant of open ground. By day it rests on the ground or lies lengthwise along a branch, blending into leaf litter and dry wood so well that it is easy to miss.

You are more likely to notice it by sound than by sight. At dusk, the male gives a long, steady churring song from a perch near woodland edges or clearings, and in flight it may give short calls and sharp wing-claps; when disturbed, it freezes or slips away suddenly.

It favors heaths, clearings, felled woodland, sandy pine woods, and other dry open places with some trees and bushes. It hunts flying insects and in most of its range leaves for Africa south of the Sahara in winter.

Where to find

  • On dry vacant lots and the edges of clear-cuts—where scattered pines and bare ground meet, Eurasian Nightjar gives itself away by a steady churr from an exposed branch at dusk.

  • Along sandy paths, power-line clearings, and abandoned pits—at twilight it sweeps low over open ground, catching moths and beetles on the wing.

  • By canal banks, pond edges, and still puddles—especially under streetlights where insects gather, then dip at the water surface in flight.

  • In open stands of older trees and on brushy slopes—it spends the day motionless on the ground or lengthwise along a low branch, almost invisible against bark and leaf litter.

Sources