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As in many species of nocturnal birds, they reflect the light of flashlights. [14] Their eyes, which could be conspicuous to potential predators during the day, have unusual slits in the lids , [ 15 ] which allow potoos to sense movement even when their eyes are closed.
The song is loud, with an impressive range of whistles, trills and gurgles. Its song is particularly noticeable at night because few other birds are singing. This is why its name includes "night" in several languages. Only unpaired males sing regularly at night, and nocturnal song probably serves to attract a mate.
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. [1] 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 ...
This was adopted by early researchers [127] including C.E.G. Bailey who demonstrated its use for studying bird song in 1950. [128] The use of spectrograms to visualize bird song was then adopted by Donald J. Borror [129] and developed further by others including W. H. Thorpe. [130] [131] These visual representations are also called sonograms or ...
Crepuscular, a classification of animals that are active primarily during twilight, making them similar to nocturnal animals. Diurnality, plant or animal behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night. Cathemeral, a classification of organisms with sporadic and random intervals of activity during the day or night.
The birds are attracted by insects around domestic animals and, as unusual nocturnal creatures, were then blamed for any misfortune that befell the beast. [ 17 ] [ 34 ] Another old name, "puckeridge", was used to refer to both the bird and a disease of farm animals, [ 47 ] the latter actually caused by botfly larvae under the skin. [ 48 ] "
The common nighthawk or bullbat (Chordeiles minor) is a medium-sized [3] [4] crepuscular or nocturnal bird [3] [5] of the Americas within the nightjar (Caprimulgidae) family, whose presence and identity are best revealed by its vocalization.
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae / ˌ k æ p r ɪ ˈ m ʌ l dʒ ɪ d iː / and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called bugeaters, [1] their primary source of food being insects.