The standard-winged nightjar (''Caprimulgus longipennis'') is a nocturnal

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the

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 tal ...

family.

Distribution and habitat

It is a resident breeder in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

from

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

east to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. It is found in dry savannah habitats, with some scrub.

Description

The adult male has a bizarre and unusual wing ornament during the breeding season which consists of a broad central flight feather on each wing elongated to , much longer than the bird's body. or more of this is bare shaft. In normal flight, these feathers trail behind, but in display flight they are raised vertically like standards. Outside the breeding season, there are no plumage distinctions between the male and female. When roosting on the ground during the day, this medium-sized ( long) nightjar is mainly variegated grey, with a browner collar. It is a shadowy form with easy, silent

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

-like flight; this nightjar is relatively short-tailed, and lacks white in the wings or tail. The song is a churring trill.

Behaviour

Like other nightjars, the standard-winged nightjar feeds on insects in flight, the huge gape opening wide for

s and

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s. It flies at dusk, most often at sundown, and can sometimes be seen with

flying fox ''Pteropus'' (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of megabats which are among the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Aust ...

es. No nest is made; the two elongated and elliptical eggs are placed upon the bare ground.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27074767 standard-winged nightjar Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa standard-winged nightjar