Long-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus climacurus

Long-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus climacurus

Mole, Ghana
June 2011

The Long-tailed Nightjar is distributed in Africa south of the Sahara and north of the Congo. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It breeds mainly in the savanna zone but is also found in evergreen woodland and in forest clearings. Outside the breeding season it is found in a wider variety of habitats.

It is a medium-sized nightjar with a long tail which has white edges to the outer feathers. There is a white line across the wing-coverts, a white throat patch and a white band towards the wing tip. The wing has a white trailing edge. The female has a shorter tail and buff replaces the white on the wings and tail.

There are three sub-species: The nominate is greyish-brown and is the most northerly sub-species; C. c. sclateri is rufescent-brown and is found further south; and C. c. nigricans is blackish and found in the east of its range in Sudan and Ethiopia.

The song is a monotonous hard churr.

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