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I undertook a review of evidence for the translocation of eggs and young by nightjars through a comprehensive search of the literature. I found that most of the evidence was based on hearsay, supposition, a misunderstanding of nightjar behaviour, or on the repetition of a story going back 200 years to Le Vaillant, via Audubon. There is no satisfactory direct evidence of any nightjar deliberately airlifting its eggs or young away from a disturbance. This conclusion is based on 10 studies by ornithologists across five continents, involving over 522 nests of 13 species. Accidental airlifting occurs occasionally when an egg or young chick gets stuck to the ventral plumage of the sitting adult. This is most likely to occur near the time of hatching. A nightjar can move an egg along the ground for a short distance, either by placing its lower mandible over the egg and then walking backwards while rolling it, or by rolling it forwards with its feet. Nightjars regularly move their chicks, especially after a disturbance. They do so by first moving away themselves and then calling. The chicks, who are highly mobile within hours of hatching, respond immediately by running to the parent birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus and Woodlark Lullula arborea are identified as species of conservation concern at both a UK and a European level on account of historical declines in their population sizes and ranges. The UK populations of both species have increased significantly in recent decades and this paper reviews the extent, nature and causes of these population changes, based on evidence from national surveys and autecological studies. It also considers the future prospects of both species in the face of likely changes to their preferred habitats in Britain. Nightjar numbers have increased greatly since the national survey in 1981, when the British population was estimated at only 2100 churring males, with an estimated 3400 in 1992 and 4606 (± 913) in 2004. Population recovery has been closely associated with their colonization of clear-fell areas in planted forests. Over 57% of the calling (‘churring’) males recorded were in planted forests in 2004. Woodlark numbers have also made a substantial recovery from a low level of just 250 territories in 1986 to 1426–1552 territories in 1997. Over 85% of the Woodlark territories recorded in 1997 were on heathland or in planted forests. Despite these increases, both species continue to occupy only part of their much more extensive former breeding ranges. The recovery of these species has coincided with the availability of suitable open ground habitat resulting from the felling of forests planted in the late 1920s and 1930s, often on former heathland habitats, the clearance and restocking of areas damaged by storms in October 1987 and January 1990 and the restoration of heathland habitats. Forests and heathlands support the majority of the breeding populations of Nightjars and Woodlarks, although there are regional variations in their relative importance. The prospects for further recovery may be limited due to a reduction of open ground habitat following restocking of planted forests, including those damaged in the storms of 1987 and 1990, the effects of recreational disturbance and, at least locally, poor Woodlark breeding productivity due to predation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent data suggest that facultative hypothermic responses such as torpor are more important in the energy balance of birds from tropical and sub-tropical regions than previously thought. We used telemetric measurements of skin temperature (Tskin) for five individuals on 151 bird-nights to investigate the occurrence of torpor during winter in an 81 g African caprimulgid, the freckled nightjar Caprimulgus tristigma. We found that freckled nightjars have the capacity to enter torpor, with a minimum observed Tskin of 12.8°C. During the torpor bouts we observed, complete rewarming typically occurred after sunrise, and coincided with the availability of solar radiation. There was considerable inter-individual variability in the frequency and depth of torpor bouts, with one female nightjar exhibiting particularly frequent and deep torpor. Our results confirm the ability to use torpor by a nocturnal aerial insectivore from the Afrotropics, and reiterate the variability in patterns of torpor that can exist within a population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We report a molecular re-assessment of the classification of the nightjars which draws conclusions that are strongly at odds with the traditional, morphology-based classifications. We used maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods to compare the cytochrome b gene for 14 species from seven of the 15 genera of the Caprimulgidae and partial cytochrome b sequence data was available for a further seven species including three further genera. We found that within the Caprimulgidae there were four geographically isolated clades with bootstrap support greater than 70%. One of these clades contained just Chordeiles species, the remaining three clades each contained a mixture of genera including Caprimulgus sp. A clade of exclusively South American nightjars included the genera Caprimulgus, Uropsalis, Eleopthreptus and Hydropsalis. A clade of African and Eurasian birds included Caprimulgus and Macrodipteryx. Phalaenoptilus nuttallii and Caprimulgus vociferous formed a clade of North American birds. Two ecological factors appear to make morphological classification potentially misleading: first, the apparent retention of primitive anti-predator and foraging-related traits across genetically divergent groups; second, rapid divergence in other traits, especially those related to mating, which generate high levels of morphological divergence between species that are genetically very similar. The cytochrome b data suggests that the genus Caprimulgus is not monophyletic and is restricted to Africa and Eurasia and that Caprimulgus species from outside this area have been misclassified as a consequence of retention of primitive adaptations for crepuscular/nocturnal living. Some other genera also appear to have little support from the cytochrome b data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Owls possess stereopsis (i.e., the ability to perceive depth from retinal disparity cues), but its distribution amongst other birds has remained largely unexplored. Here, we present data on species variation in brain and telencephalon size and features of the Wulst, the neuroanatomical substrate that subserves stereopsis, in a putative sister-group to owls, the order Caprimulgiformes. The caprimulgiforms we examined included nightjars (Caprimulgidae), owlet-nightjars (Aegothelidae), potoos (Nyctibiidae), frogmouths (Podargidae) and the Oilbird (Steatornithidae). The owlet-nightjars and frogmouths shared almost identical relative brain, telencephalic and Wulst volumes as well as overall brain morphology and Wulst morphology with owls. Specifically, the owls, frogmouths and owlet-nightjars possess relatively large brains and telencephalic and Wulst volumes, had a characteristic brain shape and displayed prominent laminae in the Wulst. In contrast, potoos and nightjars both had relatively small brains and telencephala, and Wulst volumes that are typical for similarly sized birds from other orders. The Oilbird had a large brain, telencephalon and Wulst, although these measures were not quite as large as those of the owls. This gradation of owl-like versus nightjar-like brains within caprimulgiforms has significant implications for understanding the evolution of stereopsis and the Wulst both within the order and birds in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We sequenced 2.8kb of the RAG-1 exon for most of the extant genera in the avian order Caprimulgiformes to investigate monophyly of the order and phylogeny within the traditional families. The order is not monophyletic: the Aegothelidae (owlet-nightjars) were the sister group of the Apodiformes (swifts and hummingbirds). There was no support for the monophyly of a clade containing the remaining families of Caprimulgiformes. However, the RAG-1 data strongly supported a relationship between the Podargidae (frogmouths) and Caprimulgidae (nightjars). Within the Caprimulgidae, the Australasian genus Eurostopodus was sister to the rest of the family, which in turn was composed of four major clades, three of which were restricted to the New World and primarily to the Neotropics. The Old World caprimulgids form a monophyletic clade embedded within the New World taxa; consequently, most Old World nightjars are probably the result of a single expansion out of the Neotropics. The genus Caprimulgus was not found to be monophyletic. Several species in the Caprimulgidae have both elevated heterozygosity and high GC3 content; it is likely that these are causally related. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The ecology of the White-winged Nightjar (Eleothreptus candicans) is poorly known. Only three breeding populations (one from Brazil and two from Paraguay) are known, and populations are decreasing due to continuing destruction of cerrado habitat. On 14 September 2003, we took several photos of an unidentified nightjar in Beni Biospbere Reserve, Departmento Beni, Bolivia. The bird was later determined to be an adult male White-winged Nightjar. Interestingly, the only previous record for Bolivia was a male collected in 1987 at the same locality and time of year. Because the White-winged Nightjar is non-migratory and secretive, we hypothesize that there may be a sustainable population of White-winged Nightjars in Bolivia. and the paucity of sightings may be due to the species low detectability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new taxon of the Cypselomorphae--the clade including nightjars, potoos, owlet-nightjars, and apodiform birds--is described from the middle Eocene of Messel in Germany. Phylogenetic analysis of 49 characters shows Protocypselomorphus manfredkelleri gen. et sp. nov. to be the sister group of all other cypselomorph taxa, although this placement was not robust to bootstrapping. As evidenced by its swift-like beak, long forearm, and reduced feet, P. manfredkelleri was hawking insects on the wing. Thus it adds a distinctive new taxon to the already diverse assemblage of Paleogene aerial insectivores, all of which belong to the Cypselomorphae. This strongly contrasts with the extant avifauna where many aerial insectivores belong to songbirds, and among the insectivorous cypselomorph taxa only swifts and nightjars are species rich and widely distributed. The diversity of aerial insectivores among the Cypselomorphae may have been reduced by food competition with songbirds, which do not become the dominant group of insectivorous birds before the early Miocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of a night-vision telescope, with a Pocket Memo for recording a running commentary, allowed the courtship displays of a male Pennant-winged Nightjar, Semeiophorus vexillarius, near the Muneni River (18°59′S, 327deg;41′E, 1 000m), Zimbabwe, to be observed and noted in great detail during five hours at dusk and dawn in October 1971. This male, in breeding dress, regularly displayed in a clearing in the Brachystegia / Julbernardia woodland, with sparsely spaced trees and very short burnt grass. His favourite perch was a small (10 × 8 × 5cm high) but conspicuous white stone, which served as the focal point for my observations. Table 1 provides an approximate record of this male's activities from 18h06 to 21h30 on 4 October (a verbatim transcript of the recorded field notes is available by e-mail). Further observations were recorded from 03h30 to 05h00 on 14 October. Casual observations of courtship displays were also made with conventional (7 × 50) binoculars at Muneni River, and at Warren Hills (17°50′S, 30°59′E), Ranelia Farm (19°22′S, 32°37′E), and Bulawayo (20°10′S, 28°35′E), all in Zimbabwe, and Chilumba (10°26′S, 34°16′E), Malawi. My observations, with those of Shaw (1993) and the few other first-hand accounts available (Parnell 1960, Masterson 1972, Weaving 1973, Stjernstedt 1975, 1979, Bruce-Miller 1983, Sievi in litt. 2000), allow presentation of the following speculative synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bouts of torpor are characterized by substantial reductions in body temperature and metabolic rate. Many birds in the order Caprimulgiformes use torpor; however, there is conflicting evidence whether or not Common Nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) have this ability. The purpose of our study was to examine whether free-ranging nighthawks enter torpor. Three out of eight birds that were monitored entered torpor on a total of four occasions. Our results suggest that torpor is not used as commonly as it is in other species of Caprimulgids providing incentive for further research to explain the ecological determinants of torpor use in Caprimulgids. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Nightjars and their allies represent the only major group of visually hunting aerial insectivores with a crepuscular and/or nocturnal lifestyle. Our purpose was to examine how both light regime and prey abundance in the tropics, where periods of twilight are extremely short, but nightjar diversity is high, affect activity across different temporal scales. We studied two nightjar species in West African bush savannah, standard-winged nightjars Macrodipteryx longipennis Shaw and long-tailed nightjars Caprimulgus climacurus Vieillot . We measured biomass of potential prey available using a vehicle mounted trap and found that it was highest at dusk and significantly lower at dawn and during the night. Based on direct observations, both nightjars exhibit the most intense foraging behaviour at dusk, less intense foraging at dawn and least at night, as predicted by both prey abundance and conditions for visual prey detection. Nocturnal foraging was positively correlated with lunar light levels and ceased below about 0.03 mW m−2. Over the course of a lunar cycle, nocturnal light availability varied markedly, while prey abundance remained constant at dusk and at night was slightly higher at full moon. Both species increased twilight foraging activity during new moon periods, compensating for the shorter nocturnal foraging window at that time. Seasonally, the pattern of nocturnal light availability was similar throughout the year, while prey availability peaked shortly after onset of the wet season and then slowly decreased over the following four months. The courtship and breeding phenology of both species was timed to coincide with the peak in aerial insect abundance, suggesting that prey availability rather than direct abiotic factors act as constraints, at least at the seasonal level. Our findings illustrate the peculiar constraints on visually orienting aerial nocturnal insectivores in general and tropical nightjars in particular and highlight the resulting nocturnal, lunar and seasonal allocation of activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Nightjars (Caprimulgidae) in the Afrotropical Region feed almost exclusively on night flying insects, which they hunt during twilight and moonlight. Without the benefit of echolocation, they detect prey visually before pursuing and capturing it in this dim light. They are superbly equipped to do so, utilising a suite of anatomical adaptations in different hunting strategies. This paper, based on a comprehensive literature review, examines the facts and fallacies surrounding those adaptations and strategies. The adaptations, common to most of the species, are reflected mainly in the greatly enlarged eyes and mouth; the greatly reduced bill, tongue and crop; the structure of the lower jaw and the rictal bristles; and the sensitive nature of the palate. Hunting strategies vary between species, and even within species, according to habitat, prevailing light conditions and availability of insect prey. The most commonly used strategy, employed by all species at times, is to hawk single insects from a terrestrial or elevated observation post, while some species prefer to make multiple captures during sustained flight. Prey is generally swallowed live and whole, without preparation. Diets differ between species, perhaps as a result of differences in hunting method or mouth size, rather than deliberate prey selection by each species or competition between species. Migration is a feeding adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nightjars throughout the Afrotropical Region regularly frequent roads at night and during the twilight of dusk and dawn. Most species exhibit this behaviour and numerous individuals are killed by road traffic. Many theories have been advanced to explain the presence of nightjars on roads at night, but very little fieldwork has been carried out to test them. For a period of a year we carried out a weekly survey of nightjars on a selected road network near Harare in Zimbabwe. All nightjar encounters were documented in relation to variations in road surface, road width, adjacent habitat, arc of sky visible and other variables, such as the time of night, moon phase and weather conditions. None of these factors provided a complete explanation for the presence of nightjars on the roads surveyed. Neither were any of the nightjars seen dust bathing, taking grit or picking up insects from the road. Many were seen actively hunting flying insects, especially at dusk, and palpation of the stomachs of those caught confirmed that they had fed well during the evening hours. They, were clearly using the road as an observation platform for hunting during the first few hours after sunset and then as a convenient place for resting and digesting. A nightjar sitting on an open road is certainly in a good position to see flying insects silhouetted against the twilight sky. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies Afrotropical nightjar mortality. Adaptations of Afrotropical nightjars; Coping with various natural mortality factors; Human factors affecting Afrotropical nightjar.

Discusses a study which assessed the use of torpor by free-ranging Australian owlet-nightjars. Period of the year when torpor bouts occurred; Lowest skin temperature recorded for any bird that entered torpor; Duration of torpor bouts.

Analyzes the stomach contents of nightjars in Zimbabwe. List of insects found in nightjar stomachs; Variety of prey selection between species; Evaluation of monthly variation in insect orders found in the stomachs of nightjars.

Analyzes the stomach contents of Afrotropical nightjars in Africa. Comments from published observations on feeding behavior; Names of Afrotropical nightjars; List of insect orders found in the stomachs of nightjars.

Presents a dichotomous key to the identification of Afrotropical nightjars in Africa. Details on the measurement of the key characters; Importance of species identification to ornithological research; List of difficult to identify birds.

Presents information on a study which examined the systematic relationships of three owlet-nightjars to determine the taxonomic status of a fawn-colored lowland form classified as Aegotheles insignis tatei. Methodology of the study; Results and discussion on the study.

Presents information on a study that described the variation of spots in signal conspicuousness in the Red-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis) and to examine whether this variation is related to age and/or sex. Methods of the study; Results of the study; Discussion.

The article focuses on the decline in the population of North American birds such as American sparrows, Wood warblers, Blackbirds and Old world sparrows. It mentions about several other species that are on decline including Larks, Swallows, nightjars, swifts, Gnatcatchers and Turkeys and grouse. It also mentions that shorebirds such as sanderlings are dwindling due to habitat loss. It also mentions need for keeping cats indoors or planting native plants for conservation of birds.

In 2017, Gang Liu and colleagues published a paper in this journal in which they described the first mitochondrial genome of Japanese Sparrowhawk Accipiter gularis (Aves, Accipitriformes). The paper included two phylogenies (one based on full mitogenomes, the other on mitochondrial 12S/16S rRNA sequences) that placed this species among the goshawks and sparrowhawks (genus Accipiter). These phylogenies also included a previously published mitogenome of Grey Nightjar Caprimulgus indicus. Here, we show that the published mitogenome of A. gularis is a chimera of three species (a sparrowhawk, a buzzard and a dove), and that the published mitogenome of C. indicus is a chimera of two owl species. Phylogenetic re-analysis showed substantial differences from those published by Liu et al. (2017): the A. gularis sequence was placed among Streptopelia doves in the 12S/16S rRNA tree, and the C. indicus sequence was placed among Otus owls in the mitogenomic and mitochondrial 12S/16S rRNA trees. The phylogenies in Liu et al. (2017) showed several other peculiarities: (i) the inclusion of Javan Hawk-eagle Nisaetus bartelsi in the mitogenome tree (whereas no mitogenome is available of this species and no such sequence has been described in the literature), (ii) reciprocal monophyly of the genera Buteo, Leucopternis and Buteogallus (whereas multiple previous studies have shown these to be para- or polyphyletic), and (iii) the placement of Black-chested Buzzard Eagle Geranoaetus melanoleucus and Crane Hawk ' Geranoaetus ' (= Geranospiza) caerulescens as sister species (whereas all previous studies have shown these to be distantly related). Close examination of the figures in Liu et al. (2017) revealed that both phylogenies have been manually prepared or modified. The evidence indicates that Liu et al. (2017) published phylogenies that were not based on existing data but were fabricated to reflect preconceived ideas about phylogenetic relationships. The phylogenies published by Liu et al. (2017) give the impression that the mitogenomic sequence described in their paper (A. gularis) and another one (C. indicus) described by Zhao et al. (2016) are authentic and correctly identified, whereas in reality these sequences are highly problematic chimeras. The term 'scientific data laundering' is proposed for the practice of hiding poor or erroneous research data with fabricated or falsified figures. • This manuscript presents evidence that a complete mitochondrial genome of a sparrowhawk published by Gang Liu and colleagues in a paper in Biochemical Systematics and Ecology in 2017 is not an authentic sequence of this species but represents a chimera of three different species (a sparrowhawk, a buzzard and a dove). • The manuscript also presents evidence that the authors of the aforementioned paper have fabricated false phylogenies to cover-up this problematic genome, and that of a nightjar previously published by another team, which is also a chimera (of two owls). To our knowledge this is the first known case of scientific fraud in phylogenetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Se analiza el contenido del estómago de las siguientes especies de Caprimulgidae: Caprimulgus p. parvulus Gould, 1817; Caprimulgus longirostris bifasciatus Gould, 1837, y Hydropsalis brasiliana furcifera (Vieillot, 1817). La composición de su dieta se expresa como porcentaje para cada alimento. En este caso solo se han encontrado insectos: los más frecuentes son los escarabajos (68,24%) y las hormigas (22,64%). Dado que más de la mitad de los insectos que se comen son dañinos, los chotacabras podrían actuar como factores importantes en el control biológico.

The article examines the behaviour of Freckled Nightjar C. tristigma juveniles and Fiery-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus pectoralis. It explores the chicks' movements for survival value such as their running ability, eating, and bathing habits. Furthermore, it discusses their ability to vocalize and respond to the one that calls them.

The article offers information on the measurements and functions of the pectinated claws and rictal bristles of Fiery-necked Nightjars. The Fiery-necked Nightjar sample sizes allow for comparisons between the sexes and between the four subspecies. Results also indicated that the function of the upper half of the rictal brisltes is protection of the eyes, while the lower half with prey capture.

As urbanization has expanded dramatically, the impacts of urban noise on wildlife have drawn increasing attention. However, previous studies have focused primarily on diurnal songbirds and much less on nocturnal nonpasserines such as nightjars. The savanna nightjar has recently successfully colonized urban areas in Taiwan. Using 1925 calls recorded from 67 individuals, we first investigated the individual differences of the acoustic structures; and, for those acoustic variables with significant individual differences, we examined the correlation between the acoustic structures and the ambient noise levels. We then compared the transmission efficacy of vocal individuality among three sets of acoustic variables: all acoustic variables, noise-related variables, and noise-unrelated variables. Using seven artificial frequency-shifted calls to represent seven different individuals in playback-recording experiments, we also investigated the transmission efficacy of vocal individuality and variable accuracy in three different urban noise levels (high, medium, low). We found that all 30 acoustic variables derived from the acoustic structures demonstrated significant individual differences, and 14 frequency-based variables were negatively correlated with ambient noise levels. Although transmission efficacy was significantly affected by urban noise, individuality information was still transmitted with high accuracy. Furthermore, the noise-unrelated structures (which included the maximum frequency, the maximum amplitude frequency, and the mean frequency of the call) had a significantly higher transmission efficacy of vocal individuality than the noise-related variables (which included the minimum frequency, the frequency at the start and the end of the call) in both field observation and playback-recording experiments. We conclude that these noise-unrelated acoustic features may be one of the key preadaptations for this nocturnal nonpasserine to thrive so successfully in its newly adopted urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the presence of numerous nightjars on roads throughout the Afrotropical Region. Speculation on the possible reasons why nightjars frequent roads at night; Association of light with flying insects, principal source of food for nightjars; Evidence for Afrotropical nightjars hunting flying insects around artificial lights.

Analyzes available data on the body mass of Montane and Pectoral nightjars. Identification of Afrotropical nightjars; Data sources; Taxonomic status of the species.

Assesses the plumage patterns of nightjars. Emphasis on aural recognition characters of the bird; Arrangement of the Caprimulgidae breeding; Distinction between nightjar species with whistling songs and with churring songs.