About the Jungle Nightjar
The jungle nightjar is a species of nightjar found in the Indian subcontinent. It is found mainly on the edge of forests where it is seen or heard at dusk. The taxonomy of this and related nightjars is complex and a range of treatments have been followed that cover this and several other nightjars in the Asian region. It was formerly called the grey nightjar or Indian jungle nightjar and sometimes included the East Asian grey nightjar as a subspecies.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where the Jungle Nightjar lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Japan.
When to see the Jungle Nightjar
Peak activity in March · a variable species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Square-tailed NightjarCaprimulgus fossiiVoice: This bird's call is a prolonged churring, which alternates between a fast and slow pace roughly every second.
Freckled NightjarCaprimulgus tristigmaThe freckled nightjar is a large, powerfully-build species of nightjar with long wings and relatively short tails.
Rufous-cheeked NightjarCaprimulgus rufigenaSimilar 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.
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