Africa Wild Bird Book

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404. European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus (Europese naguil)
Order: Caprimulgiformes. Family: Caprimulgidae

European Nightjar.jpg (46.56 KiB) Viewed 1137 times

Description
Length 26 cm. Wingspan 55 cm. A crepuscular bird, Caprimulgus europaeus has finely patterned tree-bark like cryptic plumage that provides excellent camouflage. Adults have a flat, wide head, small bill and large eyes that enable them to see in low light levels. Unlike most other nightjars, it roosts lengthways on tree branches in the day.
Male: Plumage is heavily streaked with buff, chestnut and black. Underparts are barred. White spots on primaries and outer tail feathers. Black bill. Legs reddish brown.
Female similar, but lacks the white spots on wings and tail. In the Juvenile these spots are buff.
Similar species: Paler than Freckled Nightjar and with more white in the wing and tail. The lack of rufous on the head and neck distinguishes it from Fiery-necked Nightjar and Rufous-cheeked Nightjar. Distinguished from Swamp Nightjar and Square-tailed Nightjars by the reduced white on the tail.

Distribution
Breeds in Eurasia, from Britain eastwards to China and Mongolia, extending to southern Scandinavia in the north and North Africa in the south, heading south in the non-breeding season to West Africa, as well as the area from Ethiopia south to Zambia and southern Africa. Within southern Africa it is generally uncommon, occurring in patches across the region. Five races, covering the entire breeding range, have been reported from southern Africa, but most records probably relate to C. e. sarudnyi from central Eurasia.

Habitat
It generally prefers savanna and woodland, especially miombo (Brachystegia), mopane (Colosphermum mopane) and Acacia woodland, but it can also be found in gardens and parks.

Movements and Migrations
Palearctic breeding migrant, arriving in southern Africa around September-October, after a long and difficult flight from Eurasia. It stays in the region until about April.

Diet
It almost exclusively eats flying insects, especially beetles, doing most of its foraging at dusk and a few hours before sunrise. It usually hunts from a perch overlooking an open area, such as a cultivated field, occasionally launching into the air to catch an insect before returning to its perch. It is extremely fast and agile in flight, sometimes hawking insects attracted to electric lights in urban areas.

Breeding
Nightjars return from Africa in late April and May. Upon return, males attract a mate and establish a territory by calling. During courtship males fly around a female, often wing clapping or gliding with the tail spread out and wings held up. Nests are selected by males and are usually a shallow scrape on bare ground amongst heather or bracken. Eggs are laid between mid-May and mid-July. A typical clutch consists of one to three eggs, and if the first brood is produced early in the season, a second brood may be possible. The migration to Africa starts in August and September.

Call
Continuous churr (similar to but faster than Square-tailed Nightjar). Mostly silent in southern Africa. Listen to Bird Call.

Status
Fairly common summer visitor. The European Nightjar is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.

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404. European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus (Europese naguil)

© Pumbaa
Kruger National Park

© ExFmem
Kruger National Park, Letaba

© pooky

Links:
http://sabap2.adu.org.za/species_info.p ... #menu_left
http://www.arkive.org/nightjar/caprimulgus-europaeus/
http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-europ ... htjar.html
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/a ... europaeus/

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406. Rufous-cheeked Nightjar Caprimulgus rufigena (Rooiwangnaguil)
Order: Caprimulgiformes. Family: Caprimulgidae

Description
Length 23-24 cm; similar to Fiery-necked Nightjar, but collar dull buffy rufous, no rufous on breast. Rufous cheeks only faintly evident: It has an evenly colored, silvery-gray plumage. Male has white spots on four main wing feathers and large white tips to two outer tail feathers. Female has buff spots on three main wing feathers and no white in tail.
Adult male: Crown stripe feathers blackish, edged rufous. Rictal bristles black; sides of face blackish with small rufous spots. Nuchal collar rufous to cinnamon-buff. Remainder of upper parts to upper tail coverts grey, with fine vermiculations and narrow blackish streaks. Central rectrices grey, with coarse, blackish vermiculations and ca 8 (5-6 exposed) narrow blackish bars, darker in T2-T3. T4-T5 mainly blackish, with prominent white tips (tips of T5 23-35 mm (27.4 mm), T4 17-32 mm (26.5 mm) (n = 30)). Scapulars with bold black streaks and cinnamon-buff blotches on outer webs. Coverts brown to blackish brown with buff blotches, rufous barring and greyish vermiculations. Chin and upper throat buff with dark markings; remainder of throat barred and marked cinnamon to buff and blackish brown to grey-brown, with 2 large white patches (1 each side of midline). Breast dull grey-brown, faintly peppered and sparsely blotched buff. Belly to undertail coverts buff to tawny, with narrow blackish-brown bars. Primaries and secondaries black to blackish brown, with greyish vermiculations at tips; P7-P10 with large white patches (both webs of P7-P9, inner web only of P10). Inner primaries and secondaries with incomplete rufous bars. Bill black. Eyes dark brown. Legs and feet brownish flesh.
Adult female: Similar to male, but with smaller, rufous rather than white, spots on P7-P10. Pale tips to T4-T5 absent or short (15 mm) and heavily suffused with dull grey-brown
Juvenile: Similar to female, but overall browner, plainer and with more rufous wash.
Similar species: Difficult to distinguish from European Nightjar in the field. Latter slightly larger, lacks rufous collar and has less prominent marks on wing coverts. Pale spots on primaries of female whiter in Rufous-cheeked Nightjar. Easily separated from most locally br spp on call (but call of European Nightjar, rarely given in region, is similar). Square-tailed Nightjar also has churring song, but churring 'changes gear' regularly. Square-tailed Nightjar differs in having white (male) or buff (female) wing bar and outer tail, latter extending along entire length of tail. Fiery-necked Nightjar has a broader, more obvious nuchal collar.

Distribution
Occurs from Cameroon to southern and western DRC, Angola, Zambia and southern Africa. Within southern Africa it is common in Namibia, Botswana (where it is the most prolific nightjar), Zimbabwe, western Mozambique, and South Africa.

Habitat
It generally prefers Kalahari savanna and open woodland, especially with Mopane (Colosphermum mopane) and Miombo (Brachystegia) trees. It's also commonly found in karoo and namib semi-desert.

Movements and Migrations
It is an intra-African migrant, breeding in southern Africa from about late August to April, although it was once recorded in Zimbabwe in mid July.

Diet
Exclusively eats insects, hunting mainly at dusk, less often on moonlit nights or dawn. It sits on the ground, usually near a waterhole, trying to locate prey. Once it spots something, it goes on a short sortie to grab the insect, after which it returns to the same spot.

Breeding
It nests in natural, shallow depressions in coarse soil. Egg-laying season is from September-March, peaking from September-December. It lays 1-2 eggs at 48 hour intervals; the second egg is always larger and heavier then the first. The eggs are usually light reddish-brown with lilac markings, although they can also yellow or white. Incubation starts with the first egg, and lasts 15-17 days. The chicks are fed and brooded at dusk by the male, freeing up the female to feed. The chicks stay in the nest for about 18-20 days.

Call
Prolonged churring like motorcycle, about 31 notes/second, without variation, preceded by 2-4 gulping notes, q-woo, q-woo, q-woo, prrrrrrrrrr.....; gulping notes may be given alone at different pitch; chuk-chuk-chuk callnotes.

Status
Common summer resident.

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406. Rufous-cheeked Nightjar Caprimulgus rufigena
Order: Caprimulgiformes. Family: Caprimulgidae

© Michele Nel
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, on night drive from Mata Mata

Links:
Sabap2
Sabap1
Newman's Birds of Southern Africa

[Michele Nel]

405. Fiery-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus pectoralis (Afrikaanse Naguil)
Order: Caprimulgiformes. Family: Caprimulgidae

Fiery-necked Nightjar.jpg (36.85 KiB) Viewed 1115 times

Kirstenbosch

Description
The Fiery-necked Nightjar is 22-24 cm in size. It has a rufous collar. They have large eyes with a small triangular bill that opens into a wide gape. They have short legs and long wings.
Adult male: Crown grey with silvery speckles and black stripes; nape (broad nuchal collar) rufous to tawny with black and buff speckles; rest of upperparts greyish brown with black patches. Tail dark brown with greyish central feathers; the outer two pairs of retrices have broad white tips. The moustache and triangular throat patch are white. Bill black and eyes, legs and feet dark brown. White wing-patches conspicuous in flight (as in most African nightjars). There are white spots on primaries (4 feathers) and large white tail corners (approximately one third).
Adult female: Similar to the male, but the white wing patches may be buffy, and the white tail patches are smaller.
At rest, it can be distinguished from Rufous-cheeked Nightjar by its rich rufous (not orange-buff) collar.

Distribution
Occurs from Tanzania, southern DRC and Angola to southern Africa, where it is common and widespread in northern Namibia, northern and eastern Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and eastern and southern South Africa.



Habitat
It generally prefers well-developed woodland with dense leaf litter for nesting and roosting, such as Acacia, miombo (Brachystegia) and broad leaved woodland, also moving into plantations and gardens.

Diet
Insectivorous, with most of its diet made up of beetles and moths. It usually forages at dusk, before dawn or in the middle of the night, as long as the moon is full enough to provide a bit of light. Most of hunting is done from perch on a tree branch, stump or fencepost, making repeated forays out into the night, catching an insect before returning to its perch to feed.

Breeding
Monogamous, solitary nester, with breeding pairs staying together their whole lives. The nest is a simple depression in the ground, usually in and surrounded by dense leaf litter. It typically lays two eggs, which are incubated by both sexes for about 18-19 days; the female incubates in the day, while the male takes the night shift. If the eggs are destroyed or fail to hatch, the female often lays a replacement clutch. The chicks are cared for by both parents, who perform elaborate distraction displays if disturbed from the nest, to try an lure predators away from the brood. The chicks start walking around at about eight days old, taking their first, weak flight at about 14 days old, and can fly strongly about 5-7 days later. The parents usually desert their territory and chicks when they reach 30 days old, however the brood only leave the territory approximately five months later.

Call Very characteristic and distinctive good lord deliver us call; also rapid wook, wook, wook notes. Listen to Bird Call.

Status
Common, with resident and partial migrant populations.

[Michele Nel]

405. Fiery-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus pectoralis

© Sprocky
Grietjie Private Reserve, Limpopo

© PJL
Mountain Zebra National Park


© Michele Nel
Chick caught & killed by a Boomslang

© Heksie
Kruger National Park, S28

Links:
Species text Sabap1
Sabap2
Biodiversity Explorer
Fiery-necked Nightjar v. Boomslang: https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic. ... 982#p65982

[Toko]

409. Square-tailed Nightjar (formerly known as Mozambique Nightjar) Caprimulgus fossii (Laeveld naguil)
Order: Caprimulgiformes. Family: Caprimulgidae

Square-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus fossii.jpg (41.12 KiB) Viewed 1103 times

Description
Size: 25 cm. Weight: 60 g. So-called because of their characteristic square-tail feature, noticeable in flight. Plumage: back and wing coverts dark brown with pale edges; mantle buff crown dark brown bordered buff; white patches on sides of throat; below buff finely barred brown; wingbars and outer rectrice and tip of outer web of second rectrice white in male, buff in female. White/buff edge to the tail. White spots on wings and white edgeing to the secondary feathers. Bare parts: iris brown; bill dusky pinkish; feet and legs pinkish brown.

Distribution
Occurs across Africa south of the Sahel, from the DRC through to southern Africa. Here it is common in north-eastern Namibia (including the Caprivi Strip), northern and eastern Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and eastern South Africa.



Habitat
It generally prefers open areas with coarse sand and bush, such as Acacia savanna, miombo woodland and dune scrub, as it requires lots of open sand for nesting and roosting.

Diet
It is insectivorous, feeding mainly on beetles, grasshoppers and moths. It typically hunts just after sunset, searching for prey from a low perch, then hawking any insect that passes by. It also forages around electric lights and campfires, feeding on any insects attracted to them.

Breeding
It nests in shallow, natural depressions in sandy soil or fine gravel, usually in bare, open areas with scarce vegetation, such as cultivated fields. Egg-laying season is from September-December. It lays 1-2, usually two eggs, which are incubated mainly by the female for about 14-17 days. The chicks can walk around soon after hatching, becoming fully independent after a month or two of parental care.

Call
Continuous churring, changing speed and pitch of song. Listen to Bird Call.

Status
Common resident.

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409. Square-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus fossii

© Michele Nel

© nan
Kruger National Park

© Michele Nel
Busanga Bush Camp, Kafue National Park, Zambia

Links:
Species text Sabap1
Sabap2

[Klipspringer]

410. Pennant-winged Nightjar Caprimus vexillarius
Order: Caprimulgiformes. Family: Caprimulgidae

Pennant-winged Nightjar.jpg (3.97 KiB) Viewed 1052 times

Description
27cm. Large migratory nightjar.
Breeding male is unmistakable with a broad white flash right across the wing and long white wing streamers (elongated second primaries, “pennants”), up to 77 cm long. Non-breeding male loses long pennants, but still distinctive with broad white flash and black ends to wings
Both sexes have small head and mottled crown.
Females lack prominent markings and are generally plain grey-brown, with finely vermiculated plumage. The most noticeable identification feature is a broad reddish collar on the hind-neck. While they lack distinct wing spots, the entire wing is liberally barred in russet and black. Like-wise, tail spots are absent. This is truly a ‘square-tailed’ nightjar, as it is the only species in which the outer tail feathers are as long as or longer than the inner ones, giving the tail a square or even forked shape. In flight, female lacks any white spots in wings or tail.

Distribution
Occurs from Cameroon to Sudan, south through the DRC, Tanzania, Zambia and Angola to southern Africa. Within southern Africa it is locally common in the Caprivi Strip (Namibia), northern Botswana, Zimbabwe and central Mozambique, while scarce in north-eastern South Africa.



Habitat
It generally prefers mature broad-leaved woodland with plenty of leaf litter, especially if it has a substratum of sand, stone or burnt ground.

Movements and migrations
Intra-African breeding migrant, breeding in southern Africa and adjacent countries in the period from September-February, after which it heads north to its equatorial non-breeding grounds.

Diet
Mainly eats insects, doing most of its foraging over broad clearings at dusk and just before daybreak, catching prey aerially.

Breeding
Usually a polygynous solitary nester, with the male performing a spectacular display in which it flies around to display its long pennants, occasionally perching to give out a call. The nest is an unlined scrap in the soil, usually shaded by a tall tree. Egg-laying season is from September-January, peaking from October-November. It lays 1-2 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about 15-18 days; the eggs are readily deserted if the incubating female is disturbed.

Call
Males have separate display territories and attract passing females with an insect-like song.

[Klipspringer]

410. Pennant-winged Nightjar Caprimus vexillarius

PWNJ.jpg (142.96 KiB) Viewed 1061 times

Kruger National Park, Punda Maria area © graham

Links:
https://www.birdlife.org.za/download/sp ... -nightjar/#