A nightjar’s view

These pictures of a Fiery-necked nightjar (Latin name: Caprimulgus pectoralis) were recently taken on Mountainlands and give a good impression of the bird’s upward angled eyes. Nightjars are nocturnal and their flight is silent as they hawk insects at night. In daytime they will sit on the ground or under shrubs protected by their camouflage.

Fiery-necked nightjars are widely distributed throughout southern Africa and because they strongly resemble other nightjars the best way to distinguish them is by their characteristic call resembling ‘Good Lord, deliver us’.

Due to their tendency to sit on road surfaces in Mountainlands, they are often blinded by oncoming vehicles and will only take off at the very last second. Animals have right of way in the nature reserve, and special care should be taken on evening drives to avoid injuring these little birds. So where did they sit before the roads were made? Tony Ferrar, an ecologist from Barberton says they sat in flat open country, on game paths, in natural bare patches in well-grazed savannas and in open woodlands where bare patches are common under tree canopies