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Caprimulgus
Sign in to saveCaprimulgus 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.
Species
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassAves
- OrderCaprimulgiformes
- FamilyCaprimulgidae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 93
- With media
- 28
- Family
- Caprimulgidae
- Collections
- RBINS-SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE, ANWC, CMNH, CUMV, FMNH, USNM
- Recorded in
- French Guiana, Madagascar, Brazil, Mexico, Uganda, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Peru
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
3 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Species
- References
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Caprimulgus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.