Gunther Zieger

A nocturnal insectivorous bird inhabiting forests and moorland, with particularly high densities in Mediterranean open woodlands. Long-distance migrant breeding across most of lowland Europe, north to S Fennoscandia and E to Russia, range also extends to Asia and North Africa. Large winter range across sub-Saharan Africa.

Season of assessment

B

Population trendUnknown
Population size
(min-max, best estimate)		1190000-2220000,1620000
Red List categoryLC
Franks, S., Fiedler, W., Arizaga, J., Jiguet, F., Nikolov, B., van der Jeugd, Ambrosini, R, Aizpurua, O., Bairlein, F., Clark, J., Fattorini, N, Hammond, M., Higgins, D, Levering, H., Skellorn, W., Spina, F, Thorup, K. Walker, J., Woodward, I. and Baillie, S.R. (1) (2022) Online Atlas of the movements of European bird populations. https://migrationatlas.org EURING/CMS (1) Principal investigator
Map

Overall Connectivity for European Nightjar

With few recoveries in Africa, most information comes from  geolocators. In autumn, movements are direct from the breeding grounds to the Gulf of Guinea or Central Africa, then onto the wintering range in continental sub-Saharan Africa. Birds from the most northerly populations have been recorded as far south as Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Birds in W Africa might be on passage, though we lack knowledge on where the Mediterranean populations winter.

Recoveries by Condition for European Nightjar

Until 1960, almost all recoveries were of dead birds, including some which had been shot. Since 1990 almost all recoveries are of birds recaptured by ringers due to increased efforts at breeding sites, and the development of migration camps in Mediterranean countries.

Annual Movements for European Nightjar

Movements mainly known from light logger data (Cresswell and Edwards 2013; Evens et al. 2017; Evens et al. 2017). Birds from NW have a loop migration crossing the western Mediterranean in early Oct, then moving to S/SE to cross the central Sahara and reach the N of the Gulf of Guinea, before moving E to the winter range in continental Central Africa. In spring, they return via W Africa before heading north to Iberia. Birds from N and C Europe take a straighter route over the eastern Mediterranean, both in autumn and spring, heading directly towards southern tropical Africa (Norevik et al. 2017).

Connectivity by Month by Region for European Nightjar

Movements from NW and N Europe start at the end of Aug, all birds have left by the end of Sep. Individuals are seen in S Europe in April and start to return to NW and N breeding sites in  early May; all are back by early Jun. Birds breeding in W Europe show a similar pattern those in NW Europe. In autumn, birds move through continental Europe throughout Sep, consistent with crossing the Mediterranean and Sahara in early Oct, after a stopover of e.g. 10 days in the Mediterranean basin (Evens et al. 2017). Autumn migration takes approximately two months, with birds arriving at the end of Oct. In spring, departures from winter grounds start from the end of Feb and continue through Mar.

Frédéric Jiguet

References

Statistics Map
N records N individuals N recoveries
Mapped data*
Total available data
*Mapped data include only distant (>= 50 km) recoveries
References Map
Cresswell, B., Edwards, D.2013 . Geolocators reveal wintering areas of European Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus). Bird Study 60 Link to Article (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657.2012.748714) : 77–86
Evens, R., Beenaerts, N., Witters, N., et al.2017 . Repeated migration of a juvenile European Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus. Journal of Ornithology 158 Link to Article (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-017-1459-2) : 881–886
Evens, R., Conway, G.J., Henderson, I., et al.2017 . Migratory pathways, stopover zones and wintering destinations of Western European nightjars Caprimulgus europaeus. Ibis Link to Article (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12469)
Norevik, N., Åkesson, S., Hedenström, A.2017 . Migration strategies and annual space-use in an Afro-Palaearctic aerial insectivore – the European nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus. Journal of Avian Biology 48 Link to Article (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.01071C) : 738–747

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