Plain Nightjar

When to see the Plain Nightjar

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 11 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is November, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Plain Nightjar

The map shades 22 countries with regular records, and 3 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.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Algeria, Eritrea, Mauritania.

About the Plain Nightjar

The plain nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It breeds in the southern Sahel, Southern Sudan, the Horn of Africa and the southwestern Arabian Peninsula. It migrates to lower latitudes - including central Congo and northern Tanzania. A rather plain looking nightjar with grey-brown, brown, and rufous morphs. Males have white spots on primaries, large white corners to tail, and no white on the throat. Females have buffy-brown wing spots, and no white on the tail.

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

Easily confused with

Andaman NightjarCaprimulgus andamanicusThe Andaman nightjar is a species of nightjar found in the Andaman Islands. Donaldson Smith's NightjarCaprimulgus donaldsoniDonaldson Smith's nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. Sykes's NightjarCaprimulgus mahrattensisThe Sykes's nightjar is a relatively small bird, measuring around 20-25 centimeters in length and weighing about 60 grams.