European nightjar

The species breed in Europe, Asia and some parts of Africa. In Europe, the largest breeding populations are in Greece. In Bulgaria this species is migratory, nests in the country and flies away in autumn. It is found mainly in plains and foothills.

In Bulgaria, the European nightjar reaches dimensions of 27 cm – body length and 60 cm – wingspan. These species have small gender and age differences. The plumage of males is gray-brown with numerous spots, belts and strokes that serve as a protective color that resembles wood. There are white spots on the flight feathers and rudders. Females resemble males, but they do not have white spots on the tail and wings. The juveniles are like the females. Their beak is short and thin, as at the base with long filamentous feathers.

They are active in the evening and at night. They inhabit forests, rocky terrains, steppes and deserts. They have mostly singly on the ground, on stumps or on rock platforms. It can also be found in areas with sparse forests from sea level to about 1800 m altitude.

Unknown.

This species is not included in the Red Book of Bulgaria, but is present in Annexes 2 and 3 of the Biodiversity Act (BDA). The European nightjar is also included in Annex I to Directive 2009/147 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds.

The species is also included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – with the category “Least Concern” (LC).

*Note: For the description of birds is used information from: Golemanski, V. & al. (eds). 2015. Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria. Vol. 2. Animals. BAS & MoEW, Sofia [English ed.: ISBN 978-954-9746-22-8 (IBER – BAS), 978-954-8497-18-3 (MoEW)]; Michev T., D. Simeonov, L. Profirov. 2012. Birds of the Balkan Peninsula. Ecotan, Sofia, 300 pp; the website of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).