Bird Guide

Jerdon's Nightjar vs Square-tailed Nightjar

Jerdon's Nightjar (Caprimulgus atripennis)

Jerdon's Nightjar

Caprimulgus atripennis

Medium61 gForest

Like other nightjars, it has a wide gape, long wings, soft downy plumage and nocturnal habits. At 26 cm in overall length, it is almost a head's length larger than the Indian nightjar (C. asiaticus), and differs from that species in its barred tail, rufous rear neck, and wing bars. The vermiculations on the crown are fine giving it a nearly uniform shade. The collar is blackish. The male has a white patch on each wing. Otherwise, their cryptic plumage is mainly variegated buff and brown, as typical for the dark tropical woodland nightjars.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Jerdon's Nightjar
Recorded by JAIRAM VIJAYAN · Duet · Kadamberi, Kannur, Kerala, India · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Mike Prince from Bangalore, India · CC BY 2.0
Square-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus fossii)

Square-tailed Nightjar

Caprimulgus fossii

Small58 gForest

Voice: This bird's call is a prolonged churring, which alternates between a fast and slow pace roughly every second. As such it differs from the similar long-tailed and slender-tailed nightjars which produce fast and slow churrs respectively.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Finsch, Otto (1839-1917); Hartlaub, Gustav, (1814-1900) · Public domain

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Jerdon's Nightjar and Square-tailed Nightjar.