The fiery-necked nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae, which is found mostly in Africa south of the equator, though it has been spotted in a few countries north of the equator. It is most often found in woodland savannas or other deciduous woodlands. It is usually distinguished by its tawny coloured collar which gives the species its common name. It has a distinctive call that many have rendered as 'good-lord-deliver-us'. The fiery-necked nightjar is an insectivorous species that mostly eats butterflies, moths and other insects. The fiery-necked nightjar breeds after the dry season and typically produce two clutches with two eggs per clutch.
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs widely across southern and parts of eastern Africa, with records from South Africa north through Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia (northeast), Zambia, Malawi, and into southern Tanzania and the southern DRC; occasional records extend just north of the equator. It favors woodland savannas, miombo and mopane woodlands, riparian thickets, and forest edges. It often uses open glades, tracks, and clearings for foraging. It avoids dense closed-canopy forest and extremely arid deserts, but tolerates semi-rural mosaics and farmland edges where trees and shrubs remain.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Named for its warm tawny collar, the fiery-necked nightjar is famed for a rhythmic call often rendered as “good-lord-deliver-us.” It nests directly on leaf litter with no built nest, relying on superb camouflage and a freeze response to avoid detection. Adults perform distraction displays to draw predators away from eggs or chicks. Like other nightjars, it has a wide, bristled gape that helps it snatch insects in flight at night.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
buoyant, moth-like flight with short rapid wingbeats and brief glides
Social Behavior
Mostly solitary outside the breeding pair. Nests on the ground without a constructed nest, typically laying two eggs on leaf litter after the dry season. Adults rely on camouflage and distraction displays to protect young. Pairs may raise two clutches in a season when conditions allow.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A clear, repetitive series often transcribed as “good-lord-deliver-us,” delivered at dusk and night from a perch or the ground. Also gives soft churrs, whistles, and wing-clapping display sounds during courtship.
Plumage
Mottled brown, grey, and rufous with intricate barring and speckling that blends with leaf litter. A warm tawny ‘fiery’ hind-collar contrasts with the otherwise cryptic upperparts. Males show bold white patches in the wings and outer tail; females have buffy equivalents. Throat shows a small pale patch; underparts are finely barred.
Diet
Primarily hawks flying insects such as moths and butterflies, beetles, termites, and other nocturnal arthropods. It sally-hunts from low perches or the ground, and also forages on the wing along edges and clearings. The extremely wide gape and rictal bristles help funnel prey into the mouth. It may concentrate around lights or after termite emergences when prey is abundant.
Preferred Environment
Feeds along woodland edges, tracks, river margins, and open glades where insects are concentrated. Often forages near water and around artificial lights in rural settlements.
