Order: Caprimulgiformes Family: Caprimulgidae
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds with long wings, short legs, very short bills but large mouth. They usually nest on the ground. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is camouflaged to resemble bark or leaves. There are 86 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in Malaysia.
Update (2023): 20 genera and 97 species
- Malaysian Nightjar Eurostopodus temminckii
- Great Eared-Nightjar Eurostopodus macrotis
- Gray Nightjar Caprimulgus indicus
- Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus
- Savanna Nightjar Caprimulgus affinis
- Bonaparte's Nightjar Caprimulgus concretus
General: Nightjars and nighthawks find their prey of nocturnal insects by sight even in the dimmest of light levels. Sight clearly plays an important role in mate-finding, too, as sexual selection in these birds of the night has led to a diversity of visual signals, including long tail plumes or rackets from wing feathers in males. Their enormous mouths and jarring calls have earned them the common names of goatsuckers and nightjars.
Habitat: Forest, desert and urban areas.
Diet: Exclusively feeding on insects which they catch while in flight. They are capable of catching large insects such as grasshoppers and moths.
Breeding: No nest but lay 1 or 2 eggs on the ground, on leaf litter or gravel. Eggs are light-colored, with darker blotches and spots in many species. Incubation is between 16 days to 22 days. Incubation by male and female parents.
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