Fun Fiery-necked Nightjar Facts For Kids

The bird Fiery-necked Nightjar is of order Caprimulgiformes, phylum Chordata, and has its major population dominance in the southern global region, mainly south-Africa. These are nocturnal birds and can be found only in countries of high temperatures, grasslands, and deserts.

They have a gleaming chestnut brown body with a grayish shade on their wings. Their body is smaller compared to other family members, but their large eyes and head give them a unique appearance and a plus to catch their prey even at night.

Their call is very distinctive and even has a name to it which is 'good Lord deliver us.'

Countries of Southern Africa like Tanzania, Zambia, and South Africa have a rich population of these birds. Their breeding months are from August to December, which they often spend in the region of South Africa mainly.

Got an interest in birds and want to know about more of them? Here you can know some amazing facts about the Chalk-browed Mockingbird and the Black Hawk-Eagle.

Fiery-necked Nightjar Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a Fiery-necked Nightjar?

This bird prefers to live in solitary, and their highly sensitive rods and cons make them look for their prey at night. Their large bill and huge gape allow them to swallow other insects as a whole, and their plumage makes them vibrant when in flight.

These species don’t build their nest and lay their eggs on the ground. The Fiery-necked Nightjar nest is protected by mud, dry grasses, raw materials, and straws readily available on the ground.

What class of animal does a Fiery-necked Nightjar belong to?

The Fiery-necked Nightjar belongs to the class Aves of the kingdom Animalia. Their scientific name is Caprimulgus pectoralis ariel and genus Caprimulgus. They are also known as Afrikaanse naguil.

How many Fiery-necked Nightjars are there in the world?

The exact number of Fiery-necked Nightjars in the world is not known yet, but since they are under the Least Concern (LC) status of the IUCN's list, their population has a good number though the population trend is unknown.

Where does a Fiery-necked Nightjar live?

These birds are tropical and prefer living in dry conditions. The Fiery-necked Nightjar distribution is in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

What is a Fiery-necked Nightjar's habitat?

Their habitats are the tropical countries of the world very close to the equator. The major population of Fiery-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus) is in South Africa, in the locations of open woodland, desert, savanna, and grassland.

Who do Fiery-necked Nightjars live with?

Their natural characteristic is to live in solitary. Most of them are monogamous and have pairs for life to mate or sometimes for a particular season.

How long does a Fiery-necked Nightjar live?

The exact lifespan of the Fiery-necked Nightjar is not known, but like the other bids of the same family, their lifespan can range between one to four years.

How do they reproduce?

The breeding period of Fiery-necked Nightjar is from August to December. They don't usually make nests and lay eggs among rough, dry grasses. Both the sexes serve the incubation period lasting a maximum of two weeks.

What is their conservation status?

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature data, this species is at Least Concern, and the population trend is unknown.

Fiery-necked Nightjar Fun Facts

What do Fiery-necked Nightjars look like?

The Fiery-necked Nightjar, Caprimulgus pectoralis, is comparatively smaller among other Caprimulgiformes. They have a relatively smaller pair of legs, short neck but with large eyes and head.

Their bill is very small, but because of the huge gap, they can easily swallow a whole insect. The dominance of chestnut brown color on their body and feathers of gray, with beautiful patterns of bars and streaks, gives them a camouflage advantage.

How cute are they?

Being a small and little species of the family Caprimulgidae with the vibrant plumage of gray-brown colors, this bird has a very appealing and cute sight.

How do they communicate?

These species are nocturnal and usually get active during the night. The Fiery-necked Nightjar sound can be called a mechanical whirring, and their distinctive call has a unique name, 'good Lord deliver us.' They interact the most during breeding time.

How big is a Fiery-necked Nightjar?

The Fiery-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus pectoralis) comes under the category of small species. Nightjars are at most 16 in (40 cm) in length, two times the size of a European Nightjar.

How fast can a Fiery-necked Nightjar fly?

The Fiery-necked Nightjar bird has a good volume of feathers and is agile when they fly.  The flight of Nightjars displays their vibrant plumage and can catch its food easily.

How much does a Fiery-necked Nightjar weigh?

The species Caprimulgus pectoralis has a size larger than many Nightjars of the same family and weighs around 0.04–0.4 lb (20–188 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names given to the male and female of this bird.

What would you call a baby Fiery-necked Nightjar?

Like the other species of the family Caprimulgidae, the babies of this bird do not have a specific name and are called chicks. The breeding months are from August to December.

What do they eat?

The Fiery-necked Nightjar, Caprimulgus pectoralis, mainly has two feeding techniques, which are to seize its prey in the bill while flying and swallowing it whole. Their standard diet consists of insects, moths, bugs, water beetles, termites, dragonflies, and snails.

Are they dangerous?

This bird is not dangerous, but sometimes their sound can become shrill as they are nocturnal, which can scare others.

Would they make a good pet?

They won't make a good pet as they are free-flying birds with a different habitat need.

Did you know...

This nocturnal bird, Caprimulgus pectoralis, has unique folklore attached to themselves based on their nocturnal habits.

In many European countries, the bird is commonly known as a ‘goatsucker’ because many of the population there believe that these birds are used to feed on goats. Afrikaanse naguil ('Fiery-necked Nightjar,' Afrikaans name) used to be found very close to the trip of goats.

These birds have a well-developed preening system called 'pecten,' which they use to remove parasites.

Different types of Nightjar

Nightjars consist of 60-70 species of birds. There are numerous sorts of Nightjars that can be found in southern Africa.

The bird, common Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus), is the most common species of this genus Caprimulgus and resembles the Caprimulgus pectoralis a lot. It's characterized by its flat head, wide mouth fringed with bristles, large eyes, and it is about 12 in (30.4 cm) long.

It breeds throughout Europe and in western Asia.

The bird lyre-tailed Nightjar (Uropsalis Lyra) is found in South America and has outermost tail feathers of about 24 in (60.9 cm). The bird pennant-winged Nightjar (Semeiophorus vexillarius) in Africa features a gorgeous and bold pattern of black and white color on its wings which are 20-28 in (50.8-71.1 cm) in length.

What sound does a Fiery-necked Nightjar make?

The freckled Nightjar sound (Caprimulgus pectoralis) is like a churring trill, occasionally in a very high pitch. It can be heard from a distance of 660 ft (201.1 m) and is very frequent in the evening or after the sunsets.

The Fiery-necked Nightjar has a unique name for the sounds which they make- 'good Lord deliver us.' People even like to have a Fiery-necked Nightjar ringtone because of their melodious sounds.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these hornbill facts and Hawaiian hawk facts for kids pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable fiery necked nightjar coloring pages.