European nightjar
Caprimulgus europaeus
paullouisv · Kakheti Georgia field photo
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 24.5–28 cm, wingspan 52–59 cm; 51–101 g
- Diet
- Flying insects
- Status in Georgia
- Breeding bird, migrant
- Recorded regions
- Kakheti; Adjara
- Habitat
- Dry open country, scrub, wooded slopes
- Family
- Caprimulgidae
- Conservation
- Global LC (2025); Georgia LC (2024)
You are more likely to notice the European nightjar's song than the bird itself: at dusk the male sits on a branch and gives a sustained, churring trill, sometimes for 10 minutes without a break. The song is easily heard at 200 m, and at 600 m in good conditions. By day the nightjar lies on the ground or lengthwise along a branch, and its patterned grey-brown plumage makes it almost invisible. It is 24.5–28 cm long, with a wingspan of 52–59 cm. It is harmless to people. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a breeding bird and a migrant. In Georgia it is seen from April to October, most often in May and September. Most records come from Kakheti and Adjara. Both globally and in Georgia it is rated Least Concern (LC).
Identification
European nightjar: how to identify it
At dusk it looks like a long-winged bird flying without a sound, twisting lightly in the air. The plumage is grey-brown with dark streaks and pale spots, and looks like tree bark or dry leaves. In flight the male shows white patches on the wings and tail; the female does not.
The male has a white patch across three primary feathers on the wing, and white tips to the two outer tail feathers. The female shows no white at all in flight. It is grey-brown above with dark streaks, with a pale buff collar on the hindneck and a white stripe below the bill.
It is 24.5–28 cm long, with a wingspan of 52–59 cm. Males weigh 51–101 g, females 67–95 g. The bill is small and black, but the mouth opens very wide, and long, sensitive bristles surround it. The eyes are large and dark brown, and shine in torchlight.
It is easiest to identify by its song: the male's sustained churring trill lasts up to 10 minutes and now and then shifts in speed or pitch. It sounds very like a mole cricket. The Eurasian scops owl is also a bark-coloured bird of summer nights, but it has ear tufts and yellow eyes, and its call is one repeated whistle.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
It is a bird of dry, open country with scattered trees and bushes: wooded slopes and felled woodland, scrub-covered steppe, stony hillsides, oak scrub and semi-desert. When breeding it avoids treeless ground, dense forest, cities and farmland, but it often feeds over wetlands, gardens and fields. It breeds up to 2800 m. In Georgia most records come from Kakheti: from Dedoplistskaro Municipality, including in July, and from Lagodekhi Municipality in May. In Adjara it is seen mainly near Batumi, at the Chorokhi delta and near Kobuleti, mostly in September, on migration. Single records come from Samtskhe-Javakheti, from Lake Madatapa, from Abkhazia, from Gagra and Sukhumi, from Shida Kartli, from Gori and Kareli Municipality, from Mtskheta-Mtianeti, from Gudauri, and from Tbilisi.
The European nightjar map combines public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Record counts reflect observation effort rather than population density. Two regions have enough records: Kakheti and Adjara.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
It feeds on flying insects: moths, beetles, flies, dragonflies, cockroaches and mantises. It catches its prey in flight, often flying out from a perch to take it. It hunts by sight, picking out insects against the night sky. It seems not to rely on hearing and does not echolocate. On moonlit nights it hunts more than twice as much. It often hunts around herds of cattle, goats and sheep, because they draw insects. It drinks in flight, dipping to the water surface.
It is a bird of dusk and night. By day it lies still on the ground, often in shade, or lengthwise along a branch. When threatened it presses itself to the ground with its eyes almost closed, and flies off only when a person comes within 2–5 m. At night it often sits on roads and paths. All populations are migratory and winter south of the Sahara, mainly in southern and eastern Africa. It migrates at night, alone or in loose groups of up to 20 birds, and often sets off at the full moon. It breeds from late May to August. The male defends his territory with wings raised in a V and tail fanned, claps his wings and follows the female in a spiralling flight. It builds no nest: 1–2 eggs are laid straight on the ground, on leaf litter or pine needles. The female does most of the incubation, for 17–21 days. The chicks fledge in 16–17 days and become independent at about 32 days. Some pairs raise two broods a year. If the female is disturbed, she flutters along the ground as if injured and leads the intruder away from the nest. It typically lives 4 years; the oldest known bird was over 12.
Globally the European nightjar is rated Least Concern (LC, 2025). A preliminary 2021 estimate puts the number of mature birds at 2,980,000–5,550,000, with 1,190,000–2,220,000 in Europe; the trend is unknown. The main threats are pesticides, which reduce its insect prey, and habitat loss: scrub and open woodland turned into farmland, vineyards, forestry plantations or towns. Disturbance and road deaths are threats too. The species is in Appendix II of the Bern Convention and Annex I of the EU Birds Directive. The 2024 Georgian checklist also rates it Least Concern (LC) in Georgia.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a breeding bird and a migrant. It is seen from April to October, most often in May and September. It winters south of the Sahara, in Africa.
Most records come from Kakheti, from Dedoplistskaro and Lagodekhi municipalities, and from Adjara, from Batumi and Kobuleti. Single records come from Samtskhe-Javakheti, Abkhazia, Shida Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Tbilisi. Listen for its song at dusk in summer on scrubby slopes.
Because it is active at night and lies still by day. Its patterned grey-brown plumage looks like bark and dry leaves, and it lies lengthwise along a branch, so it looks like part of it. A bird lying on the ground sometimes turns to face the sun to shrink its shadow.
By the call and the eyes. The nightjar gives a sustained churring trill; the scops owl repeats one short whistle. The scops owl has ear tufts and yellow eyes; the nightjar has dark eyes and no ear tufts. The nightjar lies lengthwise along a branch and has longer wings.
It is 24.5–28 cm long, with a wingspan of 52–59 cm. Males weigh 51–101 g, females 67–95 g. Its long wings and tail make it look bigger than a blackbird.
Flying insects: moths, beetles, flies, dragonflies. It catches them in flight, spots them against the night sky and does not echolocate. It often hunts around herds of livestock.
No. It is an old belief, and the genus name comes from it: Caprimulgus means "goat-milker". The nightjar hunts around livestock because there are many insects there.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
