nightjars
Dusk-hunting moth-eaters
Nightjars are nocturnal birds with mottled brown plumage, large eyes, and wide mouths adapted for catching insects in flight.
Found worldwide, they're named for the jarring, churring calls males make at night.
Related names describe the same family: whip-poor-will (from its call), goatsucker (from the folk belief that they sucked milk from goats), and nighthawk.
Nocturnal insectivorous American bird
- nighthawkNocturnal aerial insectivore
- chuck-will's-widowLarge nocturnal insect-eating bird
- frogmouthBroad-billed nocturnal bird
- potooCryptic neotropical nightbird
goatsucker · avian · ornithology · feathers · wingspan · plumage · beak · fledgling
Obscure in meaning
- mottledHaving irregular color patches
- leaf litterDecomposing ground debris
- concealmentAct of hiding something
- dappledMarked with spots
plumage · blend · undergrowth · forest floor · thicket · countershading · lichen · bracken
Nocturnal lepidopterans
- beetlesHard-winged insects
- cricketsJumping insects that chirp
- hawkingSport using trained raptors
- gapeStare with mouth ajar
bristles · sallying · foraging · prey · invertebrates · larvae · mosquitoes · flies
Relating to dusk
- twilightLight after sunset
- duskDimming after sundown
- gloamingPoetic term for dusk
- nightfallOnset of darkness
moonlight · darkness · vocalizations · silhouette · nocturnality · hawking · aerial · echolocation
whippoorwill
Nocturnal insectivorous American bird
- nighthawkNocturnal aerial insectivore
- chuck-will's-widowLarge nocturnal insect-eating bird
- frogmouthBroad-billed nocturnal bird
potoo · goatsucker · avian · ornithology · feathers · wingspan · plumage · beak · fledgling · nesting
cryptic
Obscure in meaning
- mottledHaving irregular color patches
- leaf litterDecomposing ground debris
- concealmentAct of hiding something
dappled · plumage · blend · undergrowth · forest floor · thicket · countershading · lichen · bracken · adaptive
moths
Nocturnal lepidopterans
gape · bristles · sallying · foraging · prey · invertebrates · larvae · mosquitoes · flies · gleaning
crepuscular
Relating to dusk
nightfall · moonlight · darkness · vocalizations · silhouette · nocturnality · hawking · aerial · echolocation · low-light
goatsucker
Nocturnal insect-catching bird
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- legendUnverified traditional tale
omen · mysterious · ghostly · spectral · ethereal · eerie · whispered · phantom · occult · arcane
- birdsrobin, crow, eagle, owl, duck
- nocturnal animalsowls, bats, raccoons, opossums, moths
- camouflage expertschameleons, octopuses, cuttlefish, stick insects, leaf insects
- insectivoresshrew, anteaters, ant-eaters, hedgehog, echidnas
nightjarsswifts
Fork-tailed aerial birds
swallows · martins · bee-eaters · larks · flycatchers
nightjarswoodpeckers
Birds that drill trees
granivores · woodcocks · sandpipers · nuthatches · finches