The Egyptian nightjar (''Caprimulgus aegyptius'') is a medium-small

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk ta ...

which occurs in south west

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and north

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and winters in tropical Africa. This is a fairly common species with a wide distribution which faces no obvious threats apart from

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, so the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has rated its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Etymology

The genus name ''Caprimulgus'' is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''capra'', "nanny goat", and ''mulgere'', "to milk", referring to an old myth that nightjars suck milk from goats. The specific ''aegyptius'' is Latin for ''Egyptian''.". The common name "nightjar", first recorded in 1630, refers to the nocturnal habits of the bird, the second part of the name deriving from the distinctive churring song.

Description

The variegated plumage is much paler than the

European nightjar The European nightjar (''Caprimulgus europaeus''), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northwest ...

. The adult is sand-colours, barred and streaked with buff and brown. The under parts are sandy or whitish. It is smaller, but relatively longer-winged and longer-tailed than the more widespread species. Like other nightjars, it has a wide gape, long wings, soft downy plumage and nocturnal habits. The male has tiny white wing spots. The length is 25 cm, and the wingspan 55 cm. Its call is a repetitive mechanical ''kroo-kroo-kroo…'', which rises and falls as the bird turns its head from side to side.

Distribution and habitat

The Egyptian nightjar is native to northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East. Its range includes Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen. It is a rare visitor to Europe, and has occurred as a vagrant in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Malta, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Its typical habitat is open desert with a few scattered trees or bushes. It is often found near water in areas with sparse vegetation and scrub. Over-wintering birds in Sudan can be found in areas with long grass.

Ecology

During the day, this

crepuscular In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...

nightjar lies silent upon the ground, concealed by its plumage; it is difficult to detect, blending in with the sandy soil. It flies at dusk, most often at sundown, with an easy, silent

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

-like flight; its strong and deliberate wingbeats alternate with sweeps and glides with motionless wings. Crepuscular insects, such as

s, are its food. No nest is made; the two elongated and elliptical eggs are placed upon the bare ground; the brooding bird, sitting closely, is their best protection. The population in northwestern Africa breeds in the desert and sandy steppe where there are areas with limestone outcrops, and overwinter in dry countryside with '' Artemisia'', ''

Tamarix The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tam ...

'' and ''

Salsola ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus and ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q615437

Egyptian nightjar The Egyptian nightjar (''Caprimulgus aegyptius'') is a medium-small nightjar which occurs in south west Asia and north Africa and winters in tropical Africa. This is a fairly common species with a wide distribution which faces no obvious threats ...

Birds of North Africa Birds of the Middle East Birds of Central Asia