by Matthew Cobb
You see?—I told you it was easy. You can see its closed eye, a horizontal slit, on the right of the oval.
Here’s the nightjar
February 10, 2014 • 3:22 pm
Category: birds
Spot the nightjar – again!
February 4, 2014 • 5:21 am
[Note by JAC: Matthew’s addiction to photos of cryptic nightjars is becoming a serious problem for him, and I’ve advised him to get professional help for the anxiety he experiences when trying to spot the damn birds. However, his doctors have advised me that, until he’s cured, I should humor him by allowing him to keep posting these photos. The second one is the hard one.]
by Matthew Cobb
More nightjar camouflage goodies from @SensoryEcology. First, you should all be able to spot the fiery-necked nightjar mum and chicks (the caption says ‘chicks’. I can only see the obvious one) in this pic:
If the second chick in that pic is hard to spot, what about this one [JAC: a chick], sitting on the ground somewhere?
Make your own caption
January 12, 2014 • 12:50 pm
Find the nightjar
January 10, 2014 • 9:34 am
Fooled you! A reader sent me yet another “find the nightjar” photo, but I was unable to open it. And I’m never able to see the damn nightjars, so I’ll try another beast.
Can you find the cat?
UPDATE: I can’t pull ANYTHING over on my readers. In a comment below, reader Stephen P. actually found a nightjar. Here’s his proof (see caption):
Here’s the nightjar
January 9, 2014 • 11:17 am
Matthew has had problems trying to post the picture of the nighjar, so I’ll just append the photo he sent me and his cryptic note:
Here you are. Problem is that it’s not hi res, so when you enlarge it it’s tough to see. I’ve put a pixellated version on left of image. Head is to the left.
The square inset in the upper left is apparently the pixillated nightjar, which is circled in the original photograph. You can make out the head and body if you look hard.
Here’s the nightjar!
January 1, 2014 • 12:24 pm
Well, I couldn’t find it in the original photo, but Matthew helpfully provided a photograph and a note:
Here’s the nightjar reveal. I have put the oval tightly round the bird as it’s still difficult to see. It’s nesting on the ground and its head is pointing to the left.
Here’s the damn nightjar!
November 11, 2013 • 2:30 pm
Oy, how dispiriting to see people ignore religious child abuse because they’re busy trying to find a nightjar! Such is the unpredictability of the Internet.
Earlier today, Matthew Cobb posted a photo of a cryptic nightjar sitting on its nest in dead leaves, and asked readers to spot it. Many succeeded after long effort, but I failed and had to ask Matthew. Well, here it is, with the highlighting courtesy of reader Grania (click to enlarge):
A bit about the nightjar, since people asked which species it is:
The Fiery-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus pectoralis) is a species of nightjar in the Caprimulgidae family, which occurs in Africa south of the equator. It ranges from coastalKenya southwards to the southern regions of Tanzania, the D.R.C. and Angola, to Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its distinctive and frequently uttered call is rendered as ‘good-lord-deliver-us’. Its near relative, the Black-shouldered Nightjar, replaces it in the tropics.
Here’s its range, from xeno-canto:
Here’s a YouTube recording or its call. Judge for yourself how close it is to “good-lord-deliver us”:
Finally, there’s a nice picture here, showing a fiery red eye (I can’t embed it because it’s copyrighted and I haven’t asked permission). Nightjars sit in the middle of the road for some reason, and your car headlights pick them out.
When you approach its nest, the fiery-necked nightjar gives an open-wing display, perhaps warning animals to stay away (picture from SensoryEcology’s Twi**er feed):
Finally, another close-up of the bird, also from Sensory Ecology’s Twi**er feed:
