The nightjar is a nocturnal, insectivorous species which has captured the imaginations of people for centuries.
Their bizarre appearance is half owl and half swift. To spot a nightjar during the day time is almost impossible due to their cryptic colouration and incredible camouflage.
Male nightjars spend their summer nights uttering a long, continuous mechanical churring which can be heard a kilometer away. This 'song' is thought to attract a mate and consequently contains information pertaining to the quality of males which the females can assess.
"Better than many more melodious singers, I love the monotonous music of the goatsucker. He has but two notes, and after sustaining the higher for thirty seconds or more, drops half a tone upon the lower and so concludes his burst of song. He loves the twilight, for his great eyes hardly endure full day, and he haunts the stony places in the open scrub at forest edge."
Phillpotts, E. 1919. A Shadow Passes, New York, The Macmillan Company.
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