Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis)

skfoo · 5th June 2006

3 years ago (before I became interested in birds), I saw my first nightjar (not a Savanna Nightjar) in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. It looked different as compared to other birds I have seen. The grey/brownish plumage allowed it to blend very well with the surrounding. Crouching motionlessly on the ground, it looked fierce even with its eyes closed. Somehow, there was this mystical air about it that I left (walked on) without taking any shot of it (only to realize that I missed a rare opportunity to take a picture of nightjar in the open during day time!).

During the course of bird photography in Singapore, I have encountered nightjars in a number of grassland areas in Punggol, Tuas, Kranji and Lim Chu Kang. Admittedly, they can be quite hard to spot. Nightjars rest during the day and become active during twilight hours around dawn and dusk. Its buoyant, agile twisting and turning in pursuit of moths and other flying insects never fail to impress those who have a chance to see it. (I am still trying to figure how to capture this with a camera in low light, any advice is appreciated. Off hand, I am thinking about using light beam or laser sensor to trigger the camera remotely. But where to get them in Singapore?) Most of the time, we know we saw a nightjar when a pair of red eyes flew past the car.

Nightjars are birds of legend. In the 17th century Britain, nightjars are thought to be “goatsucker” as people really believed that nightjars visited goats at night and drank their milk! Incidentally, Caprimulgus is a latin word for goatsucker. So you can imagine there are calls for action and cries for the creature blood. But none of the frightened crowd volunteers to venture out into the night ……

In south-eastern parts of USA, it was once thought that the number of times a Whip-poor-will (related to nightjar) sang in succession indicated the number of years it would be before a man married.

In Sulawesi, the Satanic or Diabolical Nightjar (Eurostopodus diabolicus) was named because of the belief that the call it made by night was the sound of it pulling out people eyes!

Well, so much about the myth and legends.

I will like to share some images of Savanna Nightjar that I was lucky to come across. Sometimes they are skittish but sometimes they allowed me to get really close. All images are captured with Nikon D2X, AFS500mmf/4 with or without 1.4XTC.

The second image was shot in High Speed Crop (HSC) mode. The lighting was not ideal but it shows the nightjar from head to toes. I thought this fella has a nice plumage.

Comments are welcome!

Cheers!

cannonball · 5th June 2006

Very sharp and close up to the bird...

and thanks for the infos about this mystical bird..

like #01 best!

Madcat II · 6th June 2006

Great shots there SK...

wheels · 6th June 2006

Very swee and sharp pics SKFoo.

Fella looks very sleepy in pic 2. Must be too much daylight.

chngpe01 · 7th June 2006

Good shot there, SK

Reno · 7th June 2006

Great Shot..!!

tanhb · 8th June 2006

Everytime I see photo with a write up I learn something. Thanks for sharing.

skfoo · 9th June 2006

cannonball/Madcat II/wheels/chngpe01/Reno/tanhb,

Thanks for the comments!

5th June 2006	#1
skfoo Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,186	Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis) 3 years ago (before I became interested in birds), I saw my first nightjar (not a Savanna Nightjar) in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. It looked different as compared to other birds I have seen. The grey/brownish plumage allowed it to blend very well with the surrounding. Crouching motionlessly on the ground, it looked fierce even with its eyes closed. Somehow, there was this mystical air about it that I left (walked on) without taking any shot of it (only to realize that I missed a rare opportunity to take a picture of nightjar in the open during day time!). During the course of bird photography in Singapore, I have encountered nightjars in a number of grassland areas in Punggol, Tuas, Kranji and Lim Chu Kang. Admittedly, they can be quite hard to spot. Nightjars rest during the day and become active during twilight hours around dawn and dusk. Its buoyant, agile twisting and turning in pursuit of moths and other flying insects never fail to impress those who have a chance to see it. (I am still trying to figure how to capture this with a camera in low light, any advice is appreciated. Off hand, I am thinking about using light beam or laser sensor to trigger the camera remotely. But where to get them in Singapore?) Most of the time, we know we saw a nightjar when a pair of red eyes flew past the car. Nightjars are birds of legend. In the 17th century Britain, nightjars are thought to be “goatsucker” as people really believed that nightjars visited goats at night and drank their milk! Incidentally, Caprimulgus is a latin word for goatsucker. So you can imagine there are calls for action and cries for the creature blood. But none of the frightened crowd volunteers to venture out into the night …… In south-eastern parts of USA, it was once thought that the number of times a Whip-poor-will (related to nightjar) sang in succession indicated the number of years it would be before a man married. In Sulawesi, the Satanic or Diabolical Nightjar (Eurostopodus diabolicus) was named because of the belief that the call it made by night was the sound of it pulling out people eyes! Well, so much about the myth and legends. I will like to share some images of Savanna Nightjar that I was lucky to come across. Sometimes they are skittish but sometimes they allowed me to get really close. All images are captured with Nikon D2X, AFS500mmf/4 with or without 1.4XTC. The second image was shot in High Speed Crop (HSC) mode. The lighting was not ideal but it shows the nightjar from head to toes. I thought this fella has a nice plumage. Comments are welcome! Cheers!

5th June 2006	#2
cannonball Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 293	Re: Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis) Very sharp and close up to the bird... and thanks for the infos about this mystical bird.. like #01 best!

6th June 2006	#3
Madcat II Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: this world is not my home Posts: 826	Re: Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis) Great shots there SK...

6th June 2006	#4
wheels Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: LONG KAO Posts: 903	Re: Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis) Very swee and sharp pics SKFoo. Fella looks very sleepy in pic 2. Must be too much daylight. __________________ My Almost Daily Shooting

7th June 2006	#5
chngpe01 Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 7,464	Re: Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis) Good shot there, SK __________________ my work I am featured here, in Vol 4

7th June 2006	#6
Reno Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Land of the Teddy Bear Posts: 1,439	Re: Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis) Great Shot..!!

8th June 2006	#7
tanhb Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 656	Re: Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis) Everytime I see photo with a write up I learn something. Thanks for sharing.

9th June 2006	#8
skfoo Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,186	Re: Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis) cannonball/Madcat II/wheels/chngpe01/Reno/tanhb, Thanks for the comments!