Bird Guide

Jungle Nightjar vs Rufous-cheeked Nightjar

Jungle Nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus)

Jungle Nightjar

Caprimulgus indicus

Medium92 gForest

The jungle nightjar is about 21–24 cm long with the Sri Lankan population (ssp. kelaarti) being smaller. Mostly grey with black streaks on the crown, it lacks a conspicuous wing patch which is rufous. The tail is greyish with well separated narrow black bars. The male has a white throat patch that is broken at the middle. The female has a rufous throat patch and submoustachial streaks. The usual call is a series of thacoo or chuck notes (at the rate of 5 every 2 seconds) like a distant engine. The song is a slow and regular, series of FWik-m notes, repeated for as long as 10 seconds.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K · CC BY 2.0
Rufous-cheeked Nightjar (Caprimulgus rufigena)

Rufous-cheeked Nightjar

Caprimulgus rufigena

Small52 gWoodland

Similar to that of the fiery-necked nightjar, the rufous-cheeked nightjar is 23–24 cm tall with a male weighing 48-65g and a female weighing 46-66g, and has a typical nightjar body shape. Paler than the fiery-necked nightjar, the rufous-necked nightjar has a dark brown body decorated with rufous-coloured spots and a less distinct rufous-coloured collar. Like most nightjars, it has a short, slightly curved black beak. A male has white marks on the primaries and the tail corner, while in females it is buff. Voice: The rufous-cheeked nightjar has two main flight calls. One is an upbeat "Q! Q! Q! Q!" and the other is a harsh "oar! oar! oar!" they are sung with slight pauses. The nightjar also has a territoriality song, it starts with preliminary coughs "Q-whoop...Q-whoop...Q-whoop" with the "Q" in the cough being a softer version of the Q! flight call. Afterwards, the nightjar starts churring at 31 and 32–37.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Joseph Heymans · CC0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Jungle Nightjar and Rufous-cheeked Nightjar.