Caprimulgus

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Genus of birds

title: "Caprimulgus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["caprimulgus", "bird-genera", "animal-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeus"] description: "Genus of birds" topic_path: "general/caprimulgus" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caprimulgus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of birds ::

| image = Caprimulgus macrurus.jpg | image_caption = Large-tailed nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus) | taxon = Caprimulgus | authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | type_species = Caprimulgus europaeus (European nightjar) | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 39, see text. | synonyms = Stenopsis

Caprimulgus is a large and very widespread genus of nightjars, medium-sized nocturnal birds with long pointed wings, short legs and short bills. Caprimulgus is derived from the Latin capra, "nanny goat", and mulgere, "to milk", referring to an old myth that nightjars suck milk from goats. The common name "nightjar", first recorded in 1630, refers to the nocturnal habits of the bird, the second part of the name deriving from the distinctive churring song.

Caprimulgus nightjars are found around Afro-Eurasia and Australasia, and like other nightjars they usually nest on the ground. They are mostly active in the late evening and early morning or at night, and feed predominantly on moths and other large flying insects.

Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and their soft plumage is cryptically coloured to resemble bark or leaves. Some species, unusually for birds, perch along a branch, rather than across it, which helps to conceal them during the day. Temperate species are strongly migratory, wintering in the tropics.

Caprimulgus species have relatively long bills and rictal bristles. Many have repetitive and often mechanical songs.

Taxonomy

The genus Caprimulgus was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. The type species is the European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus). The name is the Latin word for a nightjar; it combines capra meaning "nanny goat" and mulgere meaning "to milk". The myth that nightjars suck milk from goats is recounted by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History: "Those called goat-suckers, which resemble a rather large blackbird, are night thieves. They enter the shepherds' stalls and fly to the goats' udders in order to suck their milk, which injures the udder and makes it perish, and the goats they have milked in this way gradually go blind."

Species

The genus contains 39 species.

::data[format=table]

ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
[[File:Caprimulgus ruficollis -Portugal-8.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus ruficollisRed-necked nightjar
[[File:Jungle nightjar DM 0309 (cropped).jpg125px]]Caprimulgus indicusJungle nightjar
[[File:Grey Nightjar.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus jotakaGrey nightjar
winters to Southeast Asia
-Caprimulgus phalaenaPalau nightjarPalau
[[File:Şivanxapînok.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus europaeusEuropean nightjar
winters to Sub-Saharan Africa
[[File:Sombre Nightjar JM.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus fraenatusSombre nightjar
[[File:Caprimulgus rufigena rufigena 29305532.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus rufigenaRufous-cheeked nightjar
[[File:Caprimulgus aegyptius.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus aegyptiusEgyptian nightjar
[[File:Caprimulgus mahrattensis.JPG125px]]Caprimulgus mahrattensisSykes's nightjar
winters to India
[[File:Caprimulgus jonesi.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus nubicusNubian nightjar
[[File:CaprimulgusEximusKeulemans.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus eximiusGolden nightjar
[[File:Jerdon's nightjar, Thattekad.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus atripennisJerdon's nightjar
[[File:Caprimulgus macrurus.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus macrurusLarge-tailed nightjar
to Queensland and New Guinea
[[File:Caprimulgus meesi - November 2024.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus meesiMees's nightjar
-Caprimulgus ritaeTimor nightjareastern Lesser Sundas
[[File:Andaman Nightjar.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus andamanicusAndaman nightjar
[[File:PhilippineNightjar-04072024-SOCMED.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus manillensisPhilippine nightjar
-Caprimulgus celebensisSulawesi nightjarSulawesi and Sula Islands
[[File:Journalfrornit531905deut 0655.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus donaldsoniDonaldson Smith's nightjar
to northern Tanzania
[[File:Caprimulgus pectoralis 104203809.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus pectoralisFiery-necked nightjar
[[File:Montane Nightjar.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus poliocephalusMontane nightjar
[[File:Common Indian Nightjar joby.JPG125px]]Caprimulgus asiaticusIndian nightjar
[[File:Madagascar nightjar (Matoriandro).jpg125px]]Caprimulgus madagascariensisMadagascar nightjar
[[File:CaprimulgusAccraeGronvold.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus natalensisSwamp nightjar
[[File:Top wing of Caprimulgus solala.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus solalaNechisar nightjar
[[File:Caprimulgus inornatus Smit.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus inornatusPlain nightjar
winters to more southern latitudes
[[File:CaprimulgusStellatusGronvold.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus stellatusStar-spotted nightjar
and southern South Sudan
[[File:Cabak kota (Caprimulgus affinis).jpg125px]]Caprimulgus affinisSavanna nightjar
[[File:CaprimulgusGriseatusKeulemans.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus griseatusChirruping nightjar
[[File:Caprimulgus tristigma dead.jpeg125px]]Caprimulgus tristigmaFreckled nightjar
-Caprimulgus concretusBonaparte's nightjarSumatra and Borneo
-Caprimulgus pulchellusSalvadori's nightjarmontane Sumatra and Java
-Caprimulgus prigogineiPrigogine's nightjarItombwe Mountains
[[File:CaprimulgusBatesiKeulemans.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus batesiBates's nightjar
[[File:Caprimulgus climacurus -Gambia-8 (3).jpg125px]]Caprimulgus climacurusLong-tailed nightjar
[[File:Nightjar, Slender-tailed (Caprimulgus clarus) (45632716585).jpg125px]]Caprimulgus clarusSlender-tailed nightjar
[[File:Square-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus fossii) (6045934838).jpg125px]]Caprimulgus fossiiSquare-tailed nightjar
-Caprimulgus longipennisStandard-winged nightjarforested areas of northern Sub-Saharan Africa
[[File:A bird; the goatsucker or nightjar (Caprimulgus species). Wo Wellcome V0022308.jpg125px]]Caprimulgus vexillariusPennant-winged nightjar
winters in equatorial latitudes
::

References

References

  1. {{Cite OED. Nightjar
  2. Linnaeus, Carl. (1758). "Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis". Laurentii Salvii.
  3. (1940). "Check-List of Birds of the World". Harvard University Press.
  4. Jobling, James A.. (2010). "The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names". Christopher Helm.
  5. Rachham, H.. (1967). "Pliny Natural History III Libri VIII-XI". Harvard University Press.
  6. (August 2024). "Frogmouths, Oilbird, potoos, nightjars". International Ornithologists' Union.

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