Great Eared Nightjar (Lyncornis macrotis) | Photos, Calls and ID

LCLeast ConcernInvertebrates

ForestScrapeMedium · 141 g

Great Eared Nightjar (Lyncornis macrotis), photo 4 — Photo: Rejoice Gassah · CC BY 4.0

Great Eared Nightjar (Lyncornis macrotis), photo 5 — Photo: Vsevolod Rudyi · CC BY 4.0

Great Eared Nightjar (Lyncornis macrotis), photo 6 — Photo: Vsevolod Rudyi · CC BY 4.0

Great Eared Nightjar (Lyncornis macrotis), photo 7 — Photo: Tom Field · CC BY 4.0

Great Eared Nightjar (Lyncornis macrotis), photo 8 — Photo: Tristan Jobin · CC BY 4.0

What the Great Eared Nightjar sounds like

Sonogram of the Great Eared Nightjar: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.

Recorded by Hamas Fathani · Uncertain · Uedago, Bungku Barat, Morowali, Indonesia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The great eared nightjar is the largest species in the family in terms of length, which can range from 31 to 41 cm (12 to 16 in). Males weigh an average of 131 g (4.6 oz) and females weigh an average of 151 g (5.3 oz), making it the second heaviest species in the family after the nacunda nighthawk. The nightjar has grey-brown, mottled, streaked and stripey plumage. They also have pointed wings and long tails as well as short wide beaks that open to around 120°.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Great Eared Nightjar

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 8 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is February, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Great Eared Nightjar

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 10 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Philippines India Thailand Vietnam Indonesia Cambodia Malaysia Laos Myanmar (Burma) Bangladesh

Recorded as a rare visitor in China.

About the Great Eared Nightjar

The great eared nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in southwest India and in parts of Southeast Asia. This very large nightjar has long barred wings, a barred tail and long ear-tufts which are often recumbent. It has a white throat band but has no white on its wings or on its tail.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Malaysian Eared NightjarLyncornis temminckiiVoice: In the eared nightjars, vocalisations and songs are thought to attain information regarding the identity of the bird, purposing as sexual and territorial display.

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