The jungle nightjar (''Caprimulgus indicus'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk ta ...

found in the

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. It is found mainly on the edge of forests where it is seen or heard at dusk. The taxonomy of this and related nightjars is complex and a range of treatments have been followed that cover this and several other nightjars in the Asian region. It was formerly called the grey nightjar or Indian jungle nightjar and sometimes included the

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

n grey nightjar (''C. jotaka'') as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

Description

The jungle nightjar is about 21–24 cm long with the Sri Lankan population (ssp. ''kelaarti'') being smaller. Mostly grey with black streaks on the crown, it lacks a conspicuous wing patch which is rufous. The tail is greyish with well separated narrow black bars. The male has a white throat patch that is broken at the middle. The female has a rufous throat patch and submoustachial streaks. The usual call is a series of ''thacoo'' or ''chuck'' notes (at the rate of 5 every 2 seconds) like a distant engine. The song is a slow and regular, series of ''FWik-m'' notes, repeated for as long as 10 seconds. This sometimes ends in quick whistling ''foo-foo'' with the quality of sounds obtained when air is blown over an open bottle. A call described as ''uk-krukroo'' attributed to this species by Ali and Ripley in their ''Handbook'' is in error and is the call of the

Oriental scops owl The oriental scops owl (''Otus sunia'') is a species of scops owl found in eastern and southern Asia. Description This is a small, variably plumaged, yellow-eyed owl with ear-tufts which are not always erect. It can be distinguished from the c ...

(''Otus sunia'').

Taxonomy

The Indian (nominate) and the Sri Lankan populations (ssp. ''kelaarti'') are included in this species while ''jotaka'' (whose egg coloration and calls differs) has been separated and elevated to a full species, Grey nightjar, by Rasmussen and Anderton (2005). The populations found along the Himalayas, west from Hazara to Bhutan and south to Bangladesh, ''hazarae'', are then treated as a subspecies of '' Caprimulgus jotaka'' in this work. Records of ''jotaka'' have come from the Andamans and Phuentsholing. Older treatments include the widely distributed (China, Japan) migratory subspecies ''jotaka'' and ''phalaena'' (Palau Island) in this species. Its

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

means "nightjar from India", and it is thus sometimes confused with ''C. asiaticus'' which is commonly known as the Indian nightjar. To distinguish them, in former times ''C. indicus'' was known as the large Indian nightjar.

Behaviour

The jungle nightjar becomes active at dusk, often over hilly grassland or scrub, perching regularly at favourite prominent bare posts or rocks. It roosts in trees, perching lengthwise along a branch. The breeding season in India is January to June and March to July in Sri Lanka. The nest is a bare patch on the ground in which two eggs are laid. Both parents incubate the eggs for about 16 to 17 days.

References

External links

Internet Bird Collection
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1187233

jungle nightjar The jungle nightjar (''Caprimulgus indicus'') is a species of nightjar found in the Indian Subcontinent. It is found mainly on the edge of forests where it is seen or heard at dusk. The taxonomy of this and related nightjars is complex and a rang ...

Birds of India Birds of Bangladesh Birds of Sri Lanka