Nightjars and nighthawks | Caprimulgidae

Nachtzwaluwen | Chotacabras | Nightjars and nighthawks

Long pointed wings and a long tail give a light, floating flight in which insects are hawked low over open ground and along woodland edges. The claw of the middle toe is drawn out along one side into a small comb with fine teeth, with which the bird grooms its head and facial bristles. The song is a long, mechanical churring delivered from a perch; in display the male shows white spots at the wingtips and tail corners and claps his wings together above his back. Two eggs are laid straight onto the litter with no nest; hunting goes best by moonlight, and breeding is timed so that the young are being raised through the bright half of the lunar month.