Golden Nightjar
Caprimulgus eximius
Small, pale nightjar of the Sahel zone. Plumage is a beautiful golden with silvery bands. Bold white wing patches and tail corners visible in flight. Nocturnal. Day-roosts on the ground under bushes. Inhabits semi-desert with low shrubs and scattered trees, often in rocky areas. Song is a repeated sequence of rapid disyllabic notes, "k-ku, k-ku, k-ku, k-ku…"
Identification
The golden nightjar is a distinctively coloured, smallish nightjar which measures 23–25 cm in length. When at rest the golden nightjar appears large headed and the upperparts and wing coverts are tawny buff marked with greyish-white, dark brown edged and speckled, square shaped spots. It has a large whitish patch on its throat, the upper breast is similarly marked to the upperparts but this fades towards the unmarked tawny-buff lower breast and belly. In flight it shows a large white spot towards the tips of the wings and in poor light it appears very pale. Both sexes are alike.<p>The Golden nightjar's song is low pitched churr which may last quite a long time and is delivered at dawn and dusk from the ground.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Caprimulgus eximius
- Authority
- Temminck, 1826
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Caprimulgidae
- Genus
- Caprimulgus
Range and habitat
The golden nightjar occurs from northern Senegal and Mauritania in the west eastwards to Sudan. In 2015 a female golden nightjar was seen and it, or another, was later found dead in southern Western Sahara and in 2016 a number of birds were noted in the same area suggesting that it may host a breeding population. In 2019, the breeding of the species in the area was confirmed. These were the first records of this species in the Palearctic. The golden nightjar occurs in arid steppes and semi-desert, also on rock, gravelly or stony terrain with clumps of vegetation. It avoids dense scrub or woodland.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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White-tailed Swallow
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