Nightjar

Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae,

characterized 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 (the Latin for
goatsucker is Caprimulgus), or bugeaters,[1] due to their insectivore diet. Some New World
species are called nighthawks. The English word 'nightjar' originally referred to the European
nightjar.

Nightjars are found around the world. They are mostly active in the late evening and early
morning or at night, usually nest on the ground, and feed predominantly on moths and other
large flying insects.

Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is
cryptically coloured to resemble bark or leaves. Some species, unusual for birds, perch along a
branch, rather than across it. This helps to conceal them during the day.

The common poorwill, Phalaenoptilus nuttallii, is unique as a bird that undergoes a form of
hibernation, becoming torpid and with a much reduced body temperature for weeks or months,
although other nightjars can enter a state of torpor for shorter periods.[2]

Nightjars lay one or two patterned eggs directly onto bare ground. It has been suggested that
nightjars will move their eggs and chicks from the nesting site in the event of danger by carrying
them in their mouths. This suggestion has been repeated many times in ornithology books, but
surveys of nightjar research have found very little evidence to support this idea.[3][4]