Nightjars | Experts on Bugs and Camouflage!

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:23]I love nightjars for how unique they are. Even just a quick look at these pictures and you can see that they are not your typical bird.

[00:00:32]They have cryptic camouflage, their beaks are really tiny and seem to be placed higher up than what is typical.

[00:00:38]Their eyes are a large oblong rectangular shape. They appear to have no neck and a large flat-topped head.

[00:00:47]All of these characteristics, and there are others, are for very specialized purposes.

[00:00:55]Before I continue, I want you to know that I am a real person and that you are hearing my real voice. This is not an AI voice and everything in this video is genuine.

[00:01:09]Let's take those observations I just mentioned and funnel them into two main themes about nightjars.

[00:01:16]First, they are mostly nocturnal or crepuscular birds. And second, they are aerial insectivores with huge mouths.

[00:01:25]By knowing just those two things, everything else that we can see about them makes a whole lot of sense. Let's break it down.

[00:01:38]In all of these pictures here, the bird is just sitting there like a lump, not standing, not walking, but just sitting.

[00:01:47]And there's a good reason for this.

[00:01:49]First off, it's during the day, so it's their time for sleeping, but they're not standing up on a perch. They have small feet and short legs, and they don't do a whole lot of the walking. If they do, it's only for brief moments, as you can see with this parent collecting its chicks.

[00:02:24]Now, because of their short legs and small feet, they're not hopping around in pursuit of their prey.

[00:02:30]They have nearly silent flight and long, narrow wings, and they capture their prey on the wing instead.

[00:02:37]They may fly continuously scooping up insects, but more often, they do the sit-and-wait technique from the ground or branch, sallying forth in short bursts.

[00:02:48]They also take advantage of bugs that are drawn to artificial lights, like streetlights.

[00:02:54]Nightjars depend heavily on their eyesight to find prey.

[00:02:58]What helps with this is a structure in their eyes called the tapetum lucidum.

[00:03:03]It reflects light back to the retina so that they can find prey in low light or in darkness.

[00:03:09]This is also what's responsible for giving them eye shine.

[00:03:16]They rely on camouflage to remain undetected by predators, so having a lower profile and hunkering down is to their benefit.

[00:03:25]If they are sitting on a branch, they orientate their bodies to be parallel with it, not perpendicular.

[00:03:32]They nest on the ground, and they also roost on the ground.

[00:03:35]Their coloring is so outstandingly perfect. They look just like the leaf litter on the forest floor, and sometimes you just have to stare for a while to identify their silhouette.

[00:03:50]Nature is efficient, and for them, there's no need for a large, heavy beak.

[00:03:56]Instead, their mouths have a huge gape that acts like a flying net.

[00:04:01]Their mouths can open up not just vertically, but also horizontally, almost as wide as their heads. We're talking almost 180° in both directions.

[00:04:12]In addition, they have these specialized feathers that border the mouth called rictal bristles.

[00:04:19]Similar to whiskers on a cat, they are tactile sensors, helping them to locate and funnel prey into their mouths.

[00:04:27]When a nightjar is threatened, they open up their mouths wide, showing the bright pink of their gaping maw. They puff up their feathers to make themselves look bigger, they sway side to side, and they hiss at intruders.

[00:04:42]Nightjars are sometimes confused for small hawks or small owls, but they are neither of these. They're in the family of birds known as Caprimulgidae, which translates from Latin to goat sucker.

[00:04:55]As the story goes, shepherds would see the birds flying around their livestock at dusk, and thought that they were partaking of their goats' milk. But, I can assure you that is not the case. The birds are interested in eating insects, not mammalian milk.

[00:05:14]And as for the name nightjar, the first record of this name goes back to the year 1630, reflecting on them being active at night and their jarring trill-like call.

[00:05:41]What kind of nightjar do you have in your area? Are they a bird you've been able to see very often? Feel free to share in the comments down below.

[00:05:50]Thank you for watching. That's all for this time. I'll see you again soon.