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Gray Nightjar

Caprimulgus jotaka

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View on eBirdWikipedia

About the Gray Nightjar

The grey nightjar (Caprimulgus jotaka; also "gray" in some non-local literature) is a species of nightjar found in East Asia, breeding from southeastern Russia south through China, the Korean Peninsula and Japan to northern Indochina and westward along the Himalayas. It is largely migratory, wintering in Indochina south to Java in Indonesia, but is resident in warmer areas in the south of its breeding range. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the jungle nightjar (C. indicus), its South Asian relative. The grey nightjar breeds and forages in early successional habitats surrounded by forests; its populations have declined since the 1970s in Japan.

Source: Wikipedia

Classification

Scientific name
Caprimulgus jotaka
Family
Nightjars and Allies
Order
Caprimulgiformes

Similar species

Other members of the nightjars and allies family recorded in North America — a useful place to start if you are not certain of your identification.

  • Antillean Nighthawk Chordeiles gundlachii
  • Buff-collared Nightjar Antrostomus ridgwayi
  • Chuck-will's-widow Antrostomus carolinensis
  • Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor
  • Common Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis
  • Common Poorwill Phalaenoptilus nuttallii
  • Eared Poorwill Nyctiphrynus mcleodii
  • Eastern Whip-poor-will Antrostomus vociferus
  • Lesser Nighthawk Chordeiles acutipennis
  • Mexican Whip-poor-will Antrostomus arizonae
  • Short-tailed Nighthawk Lurocalis semitorquatus
  • Spot-tailed Nightjar Antiurus maculicaudus

Know when the Gray Nightjar turns up near you

Add it to your watchlist and draw an alert zone around the places you actually bird. Birdr checks eBird reports and tells you when one is seen inside it.

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Gear for spotting Gray Nightjar

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