Finally, on the secondaries and bases of the primaries, Rufous-cheeked has broader, brick-red bars, whereas European has yellower, narrower and irregular bars. It is replaced in the tropics by a near relative, the black-shouldered nightjar. The primary projection is long. These marks, together with the apical tail spots, probably play an important role as an intraspecific visual signal in this nocturnal family. A few beige or buff feathers may be visible on the hind-neck, but there is no distinct rufous or buff collar. On the darkest birds (mostly europaeus), the cream outer colour is darker and richer, thus contrasting less with the black feather centre; also, because of the generally darker dorsal plumage, the black oval patches are less striking. These are often bordered by blackish and rufous feathers below that accentuate the white flares. European (both sexes) also has yellower buff flecks on the surfaces of the flight feathers, and these irregular bars extend further along the lengths of the primaries. The bird is an intra-African breeding migrant that moves down to South Africa from Central and West Africa. Female: Females normally lack obvious buff spots on the primaries and tail tip. The breast feathers have blackish bases and buff tips, making the chest look dark with bold buff spots. Most other species have P9 and P8 longest and about equal, and P10 and P7 close. Conversely, on palest birds (plumipes) the pattern is less clear: the black central streak is often narrower and more undulating, and the inner webs are paler and more mottled (Fig. This creates a diagnostic narrow but obvious pale panel that extends all the way along the outer edge of the tail. May call from roofs, boulders or even treetops. Keep in mind that when bathed in the glare of a strong spotlight, the scattered beige feathers on the hind-neck of European may look warmer in colour. Toes and legs long, and often seems to stand rather higher above the ground than other species. The length of the pale patch / panel, relative to the total length of the tail. 1) and the annotated images for each species (Fig. When the wing is folded as when a nightjar is at rest on the ground, these spots are almost invisible, but in flight the spots are conspicuous and striking. Hours . This dark patch often contrasts strongly with the pale grey and rather plain back and mantle, which have only thin black shaft streaks and nearly invisible grey mottling (Fig. At some stage in our evening journeys, we would pick one up, every night! Aug 4, 2015 - The former Stellenbosch Birdclub lives on in this private website by Rosemarie Breuer Books.It shows photo galleries by reknown photographers and gives bird names in Latin, English, Afrikaans and German. Would you be able to identify a nightjar from one primary? Juvenile plumage is generally paler, plainer and more rufous- or buff-toned than adult plumage, but in some species is very similar to adult females. Manx Shearwater. Amount of white on moustachial streak and throat. 5, D). The active and semi-precocial hatchlings are initially covered in fluffy down, but this is rapidly replaced by the first suite of true feathers, i.e. The unit has two fully antique furnished bedrooms. Most birders will be familiar with this iconic, awe-inspiring bird, the Pennant-winged Nightjar, Macrodipteryx vexillarius. In addition to the scapulars, wing spots and tail spots, a number of other relatively easily visible plumage features can help birders identify nightjars. Barberton Game Reserve is 13 miles from Nightjar Guest Lodge, while Mediclinic Nelspruit is 2 miles from the property. Habits: By day roosts on rock surfaces, but at night forages in nearby woodlands or adjacent open areas. Migratory species (e.g. Page Transparency See More. Females have a similar pattern in buff. Young birds also tend to moult later than adults. Rufous-cheeked Nightjars are intermediate in shape. Pennant-winged Nightjars appear to be “all wings” with relatively small heads and weak, pointed bills; they often hold the wings slightly drooped, with the carpal joint (i.e. The pale band covers most of the outer web, extending to the feather tip, and may even extend partly up the inner web as well (thus isolating the black centre). Patterns on tips of tertials and wing coverts, and in particular median wing coverts (i.e. Many individuals, particularly of the fervidus race, also show much rufous or brown on the outer webs. At a glance, the black-spotted pattern is most reminiscent of Swamp Nightjar, although less coarsely marked. Female Rufous-cheeked has prominent albeit buff-tinged wing spots whereas these are much reduced in female European. Females usually lack distinctive wing spots, but some birds show indistinct dark buff, speckled patches covering 50-70% of the inner webs of P8-P10; no buff patches are discernable on the outer webs. Another useful character to assess is relative primary projection, i.e. Other species: In order to effectively camouflage in its rocky haunts, Freckled Nightjar lacks any distinctive contrasting patterns above, although it may show a few scattered greyish buff flecks on the scapulars. Research into the potential adverse effects of prolonged exposure to strong artificial lights on nightjars’ eyes is limited. European: This long-winged species has the least distinctive wing spots (indeed, many females lack any hint of wing spots altogether). Particularly important characters to adjudicate are: A medium-sized nightjar with a large head, broad shoulders and thick neck, giving it a “bull-necked” look. Easily distinguished from Swamp by less black-spotted appearance, head patterning, tail markings, larger size, longer tail and wing, and more prominent pale covert tips on the folded wing. The Latin name for the nightjar means ‘goatsucker’. Confusion risks: Closely related to Rufous-cheeked and distinguishing these species is a considerable challenge; see discussion under Rufous-cheeked. The first thing that we learned about a bird ringing camp, is that there really isn’t much actual camping. The main bedroom has wooden floors and is fitted is with a double bed, a flat-screen TV with the full DStv package. the lesser coverts, but are situated further down along the body (more or less above the middle of the folded wing), being attached to the skin at the base of the humerus, not the radius (see Fig. The placement of the spots relative to the emargination on the outer webs, especially on the longest primary, P9. Freckled has somewhat similar grey marbling above, but is otherwise much plainer and larger. However, paler males (especially of subspecies plumipes) can show two fairly distinct white spots, on P8 and P9. European also has more distinct grey or buff mottling on the tips of the primaries. Accomplishment? Being a long-distance Palearctic migrant, it is not surprising that the European Nightjar has longer and more pointed wings than the other species (see Fig. Also has uniquely patterned upperparts (including scapulars), with scattered black spots in the form of stars, diamonds or Christmas trees, usually with white or buff tips giving it a scaly or spotty appearance. They are found around the world, hunt in low light, and feed on large flying insects. Fiery-necked is generally darker and more mottled on the back and tertials, whereas Rufous-cheeked is paler and plainer grey, with narrower black streaks. Listen to the beautiful night call of the Fiery-necked Nightjar, an iconic call of the African bush at night. 4; this is sometimes apparent in the field as well. Habits: Roosts on the ground, usually near cover but sometimes on completely exposed gravel stretches. New birds in Southern Africa: A tale of two lists, Faansie’s Bird Book – a fully fledged field guide…for kids. In most individuals, of both sexes, the tips of outer webs of T5 have “dirty” corners, being clearly infused with dark grey. This, together with their habit of resting on roads at night has ensured that catching nightjars has become somewhat of a “sport”, and this activity is frequently performed by scientists, game rangers and birders, even within conservation areas. Large white tail spots with dark corners could suggest Freckled but Fiery-necked is smaller and much more clearly patterned, and has the white wing spots extending onto the outer webs (not only on inner webs). Swamp shares Fiery-necked’s black-spotted appearance, but has longer legs/toes, a shorter tail with full white panels on T4 and T5, a darker (less “fiery”) face, with an obvious pale supercilium, a dark chest with large buff spots, and lacks distinct pale tips to the wing coverts. (2005). Fiery-necked, Rufous-cheeked, Square-tailed and Swamp. The large black spots are often star–shaped, with white fringes or tips. P5 may also show white on both webs, but this is more often restricted to the outer web only, and the spot is faint and infused with rich orange-buff. 1988). Perhaps most frequently confused with Swamp Nightjar as both species have extensive pale panels on the outer tail feather and may occur virtually side-by-side. The rictal bristles are white-based in Fiery-necked, but all-dark in Rufous-cheeked. Get Directions +27 82 971 7654. nightjar.co.za. “shoulder”) projecting forwards. Where exactly was this? Fiery-necked has much narrower and less conspicuous pale bands on the lower border of the scapulars and median coverts, and is generally less clearly patterned than Square-tailed overall. Swamp Nightjar looks distinctly black-spotted above (in this respect recalling Fiery-necked), on a straw-coloured background heavily mottled and spotted with darker grey. The following section, all diagnostic features may even roost in plantations and nightjars south africa in areas. 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