Indian Nightjar

 

Indian Nightjar

The Indian Nightjar is smaller than their cousins and is found across Indian Subcontinent. They are particularly active during dawn and dusk. In grasslands, open cultivations and forests, one can hear their distinct call and flapping of the wings at the as the sun sets. Nightjars mostly sit on ground or low trees and feed on insects. During day time, they mostly sit still on the ground where they are practically invisible due to its perfect camouflage.

Although they differ in colour and plumage depending on the surroundings, mainly the colour is greyish brown with little white spots in the tail and whitish feathers on the chest. Many a time driving on forest roads during dawn or dusk, you may find a Nightjar sitting in the loose soil and little reddish eyes gleaming in the headlights of the car. They sit perfectly still till the last minute before taking off when the vehicle nears.

We feel extremely lucky to find this shy bird in our neighbours’ compound few days ago. The photographs are of a young Indian Nightjar taken by us using our mobile phone camera.