Nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus Bird Guide Nightjar Scientific Name Caprimulgus europaeus Status Summer visitor to suitable parts of England, Wales and S E Scotland. Few in Ireland. Habitat Lowland heaths, open woodland, commons and young conifer plantations and felled areas of forest. Wonderful cryptic plumage looking like tree bark, and is difficult to see when roosting during the day.
Hunts insects on the wing from dusk.
Male has distinctive churring song, given at night. My encounters with that mysterious bird, the nightjar, have been few and are perhaps the more memorable for that. The British Trust for Ornithology survey in 1981 showed there were only about 2000 males in this country, mostly restricted to the southern counties, so the chances of stumbling over one were remote. In fact I did literally stumble over one as it sat tight on the ground on Mousehold Heath during the 1950s. My eyes were sharper then, and yet it wasn't until the last moment that I distinguished the bird from the clutter of ground litter which provided such a perfect background.