mdahlem.net WWW

European birds    Bird names   News   Family groups 1-26    Glossary    Plumage    Tips    Thumbnails    Gen. info    Credits    Photos for sale
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14	15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   V   W   Y

13

Red-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis) German name(s): "Rothals-Ziegenmelker" Size: 30-34 cm; wing span 60-65 cm Weight: 70-100 g

Europe: Family Group 13 Family Group 13 Table Common Cuckoo Great Spotted Cuckoo Oriental Cuckoo Little Owl Tawny Owl Long-eared Owl Eurasian Eagle Owl Barn Owl European Nightjar Red-necked Nightjar Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Red-necked Nightjars are the largest European nightjars. They have the typical mid-grey, slightly reflective and highly cryptic plumage of all nightjars, with dark-grey streaks and light silvery-grey patches. The distinguishing feature of Red-necked Nightjars is their rufous-coloured neck. Also the front and the underwings are pale-rufous, with intricate fine darker barring. On the upperwings they have several spotted creamy to buff wing covert bars, none of which is brighter than the others. In flight the upperwings show rufous-barred remiges. The irises are dark. The very short, swallow-like bill is grey. Legs and feet are also grey.

Taxonomy, classification See Red-necked Nightjar at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Red-necked Nightjar is available HERE . Red-necked Nightjars are a migratory species of which there are two extant races, both of which overwinter in tropical West Africa. While nominate race "ruficollis" breeds in Iberia, race "desertorum" breeds in near-coastal north-western Africa (in and around the Atlas mountain range). In Europe Red-necked Nightjars are found as breeding migrants only on the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic islands. Red-necked Nightjars have a preference for stone-pine forest or sandy heath with tree clumps.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "ruficollis" J. Pires reports spotting a Red-necked Nightjar, nominate race "ruficollis", in Mora, Evora, Portugal, repeatedly in the timeframe June/July 2019. Another was found in August 2020. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by J. Pires.

Photos

Race "ruficollis"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Lateral view of a Red-necked Nightjar (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2019]

Lateral view of a Red-necked Nightjar (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2019]

Lateral view of a Red-necked Nightjar (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, August 2020]

Lateral view of a Red-necked Nightjar (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2019]

Lateral view of a Red-necked Nightjar (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2019]

Lateral view of a Red-necked Nightjar (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Red-necked Nightjar; note the characteristic rufous neck (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2019]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Fri, 28 January 2022, 20:29 +00:00