The sombre nightjar or dusky nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is native to East Africa.
Region
Horn of Africa and East Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs in semi-arid to dry savanna and open bushland, especially Acacia–Commiphora scrub, lightly wooded plains, and rocky hillsides. It often uses open tracks, clearings, and the edges of cultivation for foraging flights. By day it roosts on the ground under low shrubs or among stones, relying on camouflage. Nests are placed directly on bare earth or leaf litter with minimal or no nest structure.
Altitude Range
0–2000 m
Climate Zone
Arid
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The sombre nightjar, also called the dusky nightjar in East Africa, is a cryptic, ground-roosting nightjar that relies on mottled plumage to disappear against leaf litter and stony soil. It hunts flying insects at dusk and dawn with a huge, bristle-fringed gape. Its soft, repetitive churring song carries on calm evenings. Not to be confused with the Neotropical Dusky Nightjar of Central America, which is a different species.
Specimen at Nairobi National Museum
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
buoyant with short rapid wingbeats and brief glides
Social Behavior
Typically encountered singly or in pairs at breeding sites. Roosts on the ground by day and depends on stillness and camouflage when approached. Lays one to two eggs directly on the ground, with both adults participating in incubation and chick care.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A soft, repetitive churring or trilling series given at dusk from the ground or a low perch. Also emits sharp chip notes during aerial foraging and when alarmed.
Plumage
Densely mottled and vermiculated brown, grey, and buff with a generally dark, somber tone; very cryptic against ground substrates.
Diet
Feeds almost entirely on flying insects such as moths, beetles, termites, and flying ants. Captures prey on the wing with a very wide gape aided by rictal bristles. Will hawk along open tracks and above low vegetation, sometimes making brief sallies from the ground. During hatches or swarms it may feed intensively in a small area.
Preferred Environment
Forages over open scrub, savanna edges, and along paths or clearings where insect activity is concentrated. Often hunts just above the ground or canopy openings, using ambient light from the sky or moon.
