Listen to the nightjar

by Matthew Cobb

Now you can see this Eurasian (or European) nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus), can’t you?

These are the birds we have in the UK, Europe and Asia – they are here in the summer, eating night-flying insects, and then migrate. Early this morning on the BBC (less early than it should have been, because Europe put its clocks back last night, as Jerry discovered in Bulgaria), there was a nightjartastic episode of an excellent series called The Living World.

This 22-minute programme describes the behaviour, calling (“churring”) and habits of the nightjar, which, it turns out, follows the migration routes of my equal favourite bird, the swift (Apus apus). I would urge you to listen to the programme, which will transport you into the beautiful atmosphere of dusk on a Somerset heath in early September. You’ll learn that nightjars aren’t just about amazing camouflage.

Click here and then press ‘play’. No matter where you are in the world, you can listen (you’ll find loads of fascinating episodes on the series website covering the last seven years).