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Secretive Life of Nightjars We were continuing our night safari and we came across calls of this bird and as we were getting close it was getting louder and louder and at one stretch one of us said he can see the bird and we stopped.. We targeted our torches in the direction of calls and this bird was there very close.. My first nightjar and that too so close.. This is Jerdon&#039;s Nightjar. I recorded its calls, took few shots and we left.. <br /> In broad day light they are extremely hard to find(Generally on ground or on tilted branches) .. You google camouflaged nightjars and you&#039;ll know what am saying. Hence beautiful creatures like this goes unnoticed.. <br /> Very few information we know about them.. <br /> Facts: During courtship, the male attracts a mate by calling with a loud &lsquo;churring&rsquo; call that contains 1,900 notes per minute. Bird,Birding,Birds,Caprimulgus atripennis,D5200,Geotagged,India,Jerdon's nightjar,Nightjar,Spring,WildIndia,incredible india,incredibleindia,india,jagtap,maharashtra,nikon,phansad,raigad,tamron Click/tap to enlarge PromotedSpecies introCountry intro

Secretive Life of Nightjars

We were continuing our night safari and we came across calls of this bird and as we were getting close it was getting louder and louder and at one stretch one of us said he can see the bird and we stopped.. We targeted our torches in the direction of calls and this bird was there very close.. My first nightjar and that too so close.. This is Jerdon's Nightjar. I recorded its calls, took few shots and we left..
In broad day light they are extremely hard to find(Generally on ground or on tilted branches) .. You google camouflaged nightjars and you'll know what am saying. Hence beautiful creatures like this goes unnoticed..
Very few information we know about them..
Facts: During courtship, the male attracts a mate by calling with a loud ‘churring’ call that contains 1,900 notes per minute.

    comments (4)

  1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
    Lion
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    They are gorgeous, I've seen nightjars during the day twice, but its really exceptional to find them. Posted 9 years ago
    1. View abhitap's profile
      abhitap
      Lion
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      Wow!!!! If you sighted the bird on your own then hats-off Posted 9 years ago
      1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
        Ferdy Christant
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        View Lion class
        No, I didn't, in both cases the guide spotted it :)

        Madagascar Nightjar at day During our trip in Madagascar, several times we heard a distinct animal call that sounds like a pingpong ball dropping, usually around the time the sun was setting. Little did we realize this was the call of the Nightjar, a nocturnal bird. <br /> <br /> They are reasonably common in Madagascar, but it is less common to find them sleeping on the forest floor during the day, even less common to find two keeping each other warm. Check out their enormous heads and tiny beaks. Andasibe,Caprimulgus madagascariensis,Madagascar,Madagascar Nightjar

        Sri Lanka Frogmouth (couple) - closeup in Sinharaja, Sri Lanka Before visiting Sri Lanka, we bought a birds book and this was our number one bird to see on our "wishful thinking" list. This species has a peculiar look, the frog-like mouth, and is nocturnal, making it very hard to find. We did not find this one on our own, but we were thrilled to finally see it during the very last park visit of our trip. We had to stroll away from the path and go into the jungle for a bit to arrive at this sighting. <br /> <br /> If you study other people's trip logs, you'll find similar spottings in Sinharaja. This is due to the behavior of this species where it returns to the same resting place for months in a row. Thus, if you don't disturb it too much, the spotting can be preserved and reused many times.<br /> <br /> Anyways, the grey one is the male, the orange/brown one is the female. Asia,Batrachostomus moniliger,Sinharaja,Sri Lanka,Sri Lanka frogmouth
         Posted 9 years ago
        1. View abhitap's profile
          abhitap
          Lion
          View Lion class
          Wow!! nice camouflage and what a find!!! Posted 9 years ago

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The Jerdon's nightjar

Jerdon's nightjar is a medium-sized nightjar species which is found in southern India and Sri Lanka. Formerly considered as a subspecies of the long-tailed nightjar it is best recognized by its distinctive call. The common name commemorates the surgeon-naturalist Thomas C. Jerdon who described the species although it was also referred to in the past as the Ghat nightjar on account of its habitat.

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Similar species: Nightjars
Species identified by abhitap
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By abhitap

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Uploaded Apr 15, 2016. Captured Apr 2, 2016 01:19 in Unnamed Road, Supegaon, Maharashtra 402109, India.
country flag of India Explore India 5,169 1,362 0
  • NIKON D5200
  • f/7.1
  • 2s
  • ISO1600
  • 280mm