“Caprimulgus natalensis”

What to Know About the Swamp Nightjar in Uganda?

The swamp nightjar or Natal nightjar is a bird species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is a resident breeder in most African countries such as Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The name swamp nightjar was derived from its easiness to adapt to moist or dry grasslands that are next to swamps, lagoons, rivers and other water bodies. Also, it can inhabit in palms and floodplains.

How Does the Swamp Night Jar in Uganda Look Like?

The swamp nightjar is a midsized bird of length 20-24 cm, the male weighs about 86.5g and female 65g. The feathers on the back or greyish-brown.

Unlike other nightjars, the swamp nightjar lacks a pale wing band when resting. Females lacking white bands on wings in flight and on either side of the tail while males can have it. They are sexually dimorphic.

How Does the African Cuckoo in Uganda Sing and Make Calls?

Usually, the male is heard uttering a monotonous song “chop, chop, chop, chop” given from ground.

How Does the Swamp Night Jar in Uganda feed?

The Swamp nightjar is mainly insectivorous, most of the foraging is done at dusk, flying up from the ground to catch a prey item and the returns to the same spot. Food items income cockroaches, grasshoppers, beetles, locusts, moths among others.

How Does the Swamp Nightjar in Uganda Reproduce?

The Swamp Nightjar is a monogamous bird and territorial solitary breeder. The clutch is two eggs laid on bare sand, clay or flattened grass, usually near a grass tuft.

Egg-laying season is from August-December. Incubation is done by both male and female. The mother incubate day, and the father at night.

Chicks are brooded in the nest up to about 7-9 days after hatching. The have a special way of camouflage which protects them from predators.