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Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeus

Nightjar, photo: Arne Ader
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The nightjar has a flat head, a tiny beak (but a big mouth), a long body, a long, wide, and angular tail, and long blunt-ended wings. The male bird has white spots on the wings and tail. Elsewhere, they are dark: a combination of grey, brown, and reddish-brown. Their flight style is shifty, with the tail often spread in a fan-like manner. Nightjars, who are night birds, live in the fringes of woodlands and in pine forests, especially heath pinewoods. They prefer to eat different beetles and butterflies, which they only catch in the air. If we look at the way these birds build their nests, one might say that nightjars are very lazy – namely, they do not build a nest at all. They lay eggs directly onto the ground; and sometimes, they do not even bother moving from the path they are currently on to do so. However, if there is danger on the horizon, they might even move their eggs to another location.