Nocturnal Grey Nightjar sits on a branch in the day-time at Bharatpur

From the archive record

Nocturnal Grey Nightjar sits on a branch in the day-time at Bharatpur. This is a grey nightjar, Caprimulgus jotaka, a medium-sized member of the taxonomic family, Caprimulgidae. The caprimulgids are crepuscular or nocturnal birds with long pointed wings, short legs and short bills surrounded by rictal bristles (but they've got big mouths). They prey on moths and other large night-flying insects that they catch in flight. Nightjars usually nest on the ground, and so their soft plumage is cryptically coloured to resemble bark or leaves. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion. The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the pop