The European Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus) is the forest's camouflaged twilight hunter, by day sitting motionless along a branch, blending into the bark, while at dusk it hunts insects on soft, fluttering wings and betrays itself with an odd, whirring call. It measures 24-28 cm in length, has a wingspan of around 52-59 cm and weighs about 70-100 grams. Its finely mottled, bark- and leaf-like pattern of grey and brown gives it exceptional camouflage; the wings are long and pointed and the tail long. The male can be recognised by white spots near the wingtips and tail corners, and the eye is large and dark, with a wide mouth that gapes open to catch insects in flight.
The male's display call is a monotonous, whirring, almost mechanical "trrrrrr" that can continue for minutes with barely a pause, shifting slightly in pitch, and sharp, clapping wingbeats can be heard during the display flight. The species breeds in southern and central Sweden, with a population estimated at 8,000-15,000 pairs, tied to dry, warm, open habitats such as pine heaths, heather moors, sparse clearcuts and sandy ground. It builds no nest at all: the female lays usually 2 eggs directly on the ground, often on bare sand or among needles and leaves, protected chiefly by the incubating bird's camouflage; both parents share incubation and feeding, and the species can manage two broods in a favourable season. Its diet consists of night-flying insects such as moths and beetles, caught on the wing during dusk and dawn hunts. A long-distance migrant, it arrives only in late May and leaves again in August, bound for wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa, and is entirely absent from Sweden during winter.
Read about this species in Swedish →