Indian Nightjar
Caprimulgus asiaticus asiaticus
Gottamgotta, Chincholi Wildlife Sanctuary
For this week, I am exploring deep within the Chincholi Wildlife Sanctuary, near Gottamgotta and the backwaters of the beautiful Chandrampally Dam. As I was making my way down to the waters of the dam I came up on this Indian Nightjar on the ground. It didn’t move and I think was trying to play dead in the hope that it won’t be seen. The Indian Nightjar is a cryptically-coloured nightbird. Much more intricately marked than the Large-tailed Nightjar and also lacks the white throat of that species. It is not as diffusely patterned as the Savanna and Jungle Nightjars, both of which lack the Indian’s white “moustache” and clear collar. The Indian Nightjar is found in a range of wooded habitats, from hilly dry forest to garden edges. Listen for its distinctive song, an accelerating knocking akin to a ping-pong ball dropping and bouncing rapidly on the floor.
Chincholi Wildlife Sanctuary & Gottamgutta
The Chincholi Wildlife Sanctuary is the first dry land Wildlife Sanctuary in South India and was declared a sanctuary in 2011 extending over 134.88 km². This is the only area in the Hyderabad - Karnataka Region with rich floral biodiversity. Apart from medicinal herbs and trees, species like the Red Sanders and Sandalwood are found abundantly. The Sanctuary has good dry deciduous and moist deciduous forest in the core with Acacia and Teak plantations on the fringes. Apart from the Chandrampally dam, four small dams exist at its Centre. The forest is also home to fauna like the Black Buck, Common Fox, Four-horned Antelope, Fruit bat, Hyena, Indian Wolf etc. Over 35 species of birds, including Black Drongo, Black-winged Kite, Blossom-headed Parakeet, Blue pigeon, Black-headed Oriole and Grey partridge are also found. Chincholi is also home to the Lambani Tandas, a protected tribal community that lives locally in the forests in harmony with nature.
I had the opportunity to work with the Forest Range officer stationed here at the time and was able to document almost 35 species of birds within a few hours.
Gottamgutta or Gottamgota is located at a distance of 25 kms from Zaheerabad and 7 KMs from Chandrampalli. Ideally located at the foot of the Chandrampally reservoir on the River Bhima, it provides a fantastic habitat for wildlife to thrive and prosper. The River Bhima (also known as the Chandrabhaga River) is the largest tributary of the Krishna River and a major river in Western and South India. It flows southeast for 861 kilometres through Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana states, before finally merging into the Krishna River. It originates near Bhimashankar Temple in the Bhimashankar hills on the western side of the Western Ghats in the Pune District of Maharashtra. After the first sixty-five kilometers gushing through a narrow valley and rugged terrain, the banks open up and form a fertile agricultural area which is densely populated. It merges into the Krishna River in Karnataka’s Raichur district. Gottamgutta is 135 km from Hyderabad and is ideal for wildlife enthusiasts looking for a weekend drive. Surrounded by lush forests, the hills by the reservoir offer stunning views. The sunlight and moonlight make the water sparkle continuously. Additionally, there is a beautiful waterfall and some ancient temples to explore.
The 861 km-long Bhima river is bounded on the west by the stunning Western Ghats, to the north lies the Balaghat Range, and to the south lie the Mahadeo Hills. The total basin area of the river is 48,631 km², of which 75% lies in the state of Maharashtra. Its water level is prone to monsoonal changes, flooding in August following the rains and almost stagnant between March and April. Receding floodwaters leave rich alluvial terraces that form fertile farming belts. Local irrigation works augment the scant supply of rainfall; major crops are jowar (grain sorghum), bajra (pearl millet), and oilseeds. Sugarcane is an important irrigated cash crop. River Bhima’s major tributaries are the Indrayani River, Mula River, Mutha River, and Pavana River. Pandharpur, an important pilgrimage centre, is located on the right bank of the Bhima. The river is also referred to as Chandrabhaga River, especially at Pandharpur, as it resembles the shape of the Moon.
Till the time I wrote this piece and started looking at the geo tags of my photos and videos I had not realised how much I have photographed and filmed along the River Bhima! And this is just one large tributary of one major river flowing across three states. This illustrates how rich and diverse the biodiversity of India is. Imagine having a record like this for all rivers and their tributaries for the country.
Indian Nightjar
The Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) is a small nightbird and a resident breeder in open lands across South Asia and Southeast Asia. Like most nightjars it is crepuscular and is best detected from its characteristic calls at dawn and dusk that have been likened to a stone skipping on a frozen lake - a series of clicks that become shorter and more rapid. They are sometimes spotted on roads when their eyes gleam red in the spotlight of a vehicle. There is considerable plumage variation across its range and can be hard to differentiate from other nightjars in the region especially in the field.
This nightjar is small and short-tailed with white corners to the tail, a golden nape and collar, dark cheeks and white patches on the sides of the throat. The crown is grey and the breast is finely barred in brown. The males have more white on the tail while the female is more heavily streaked on the crown. It is differentiated from Sykes's nightjar by the dark undertail and from Jerdon's nightjar by the shorter tail and white patches on the sides of the throat.
The Indian Nightjar is 23–24 cm long and weighs between 40–46 g. It is sexually dimorphic. The upperparts are a greyish brown with blackish brown streaks, the crown is a broadly streaked blackish brown edged rufous; there is a broad buff or tawny nuchal collar with the lesser coverts a greyish brown speckled with rufous. The rest of the wing-coverts are a greyish brown boldly spotted buff; the scapulars blackish brown edged buff. They have a whitish submoustachial stripe and a large white patch on either side of lower throat. The underparts are a greyish brown, barred brown and boldly spotted buff, becoming buff barred brown on belly and flanks. The male has a white spot on its four outermost primaries and broad white tips to two outermost tail feathers; the female has smaller white wing spots, tinged or edged buff, and narrower buffish white tips to two outermost tail feathers. The iris is dark brown, and the bill a horn-brown to blackish, the legs and feet are a brownish pink. It is slightly smaller than the Jungle Nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus), with a broader nuchal collar; the male has smaller white wing spots and only two outermost tail feathers tipped white. It is smaller than the Large-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus), with more distinct nuchal collar and more boldly spotted wing-coverts; the male has smaller white wing spots and narrower white tips to two outermost tail feathers. Generally more heavily patterned than the Savanna Nightjar (Caprimulgus affinis), which usually lacks a nuchal collar and has less spotting on wing-coverts; the male of that species often has larger white wing spots and two outermost tail feathers are entirely whitish. The juvenile is paler (almost silvery grey) and plainer than the adult, with only a very faintly indicated nuchal collar. The racial differences are slight; the nominate is variable in colour, with greyish-brown, sandy-buff, grey, brown and rufous birds recorded; race eidos possibly slightly smaller (wing 137–146 mm, versus 137–153 mm in nominate).
Indian Nightjar Identification. source: Ogaclicks.com
The populations show clinal variation with paler plumage in the dry zone of northwestern India. The population of Sri Lanka is named eidos and is darker and greyer overall. In northwestern India, subspecies gurgaoni is a very pale sandy buff with nominate populations of peninsular India showing considerable variation. The proposed race siamensis is said to be paler and more silvery grey, with paler nuchal collar.
The call is distinctive and has been likened to a stone skipped on a frozen lake (due to which it was also called the "ice-bird" in colonial India) or a ping-pong ball bouncing rapidly and coming to rest.
It flies after sundown with an easy, silent moth-like flight. During the day, the Indian nightjar lies still on the ground, concealed by its plumage; it is then difficult to detect, blending in with the soil. This is the situation I saw this nightjar in and was able to get close enough to fill the frame.
The Indian Nightjar is highly variable throughout its range, but typically favours scrubland or wooded country. Light scrub jungle, thin bamboo jungle, young forestry plantations, fallow cultivation with thickets and euphorbia hedges, stony nullahs near cultivation, and overgrown gardens. In SW Pakistan, it is noted to prefer low hill country, sparsely vegetated with scattered thorn scrub, but also low stony hills and flat saline areas with tamarisk bushes. In Sri Lanka, scrubland, waste ground, tracts of jungle on sandy soils, open wooded country and cinnamon plantations. Lowland plains to foothills, from sea-level to 1500 m, but probably mainly below 1000 m. It usually sits on the ground or low trees and is not found on high perches. The species is found from northwestern India and adjoining parts of Pakistan but not found in the arid desert region. It is found south of the Himalayas in the low elevations east to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Vietnam. It is also found in Sri Lanka.
No nest is made; the two beautifully marbled creamy pink eggs are placed upon the bare ground during February to September; the brooding bird, sitting closely, is well camouflaged. Eggs may be moved short distances. The newly hatched chick is covered in down with brown above and light rufous
Nightjars are most active, and mostly feed, near dawn and dusk (crepuscular - active during the twilight). At dusk, they often fly around livestock to feed on insects swarming around the animals. At night, they like to take advantage of insects swarming around street lamps or other artificial light sources. They are keeping their bills wide open as they fly through clouds of small insects. Nightjars may also forage under the canopy by flying from favoured perches catching insects at foliage heights of 5 – 15 feet (~1.5 – 5 m). Larger insects are usually taken back to their favoured feeding perches. While holding the insects in their bills, nightjars keep the head upright, shake and swallow the prey whole, or they may break the insects apart before eating. Insects may also be taken from the ground or foliage. Juvenile nightjars typically sit on the ground before making short jumps or flights to capture insects. The bulk of their diet consists of flying / swarming insects, such as mosquitoes, flies, beetles, locusts, winged ants, moths and grasshoppers, as well as plant lice and crickets. To a lesser extent, they will also eat larvae, nymphs and eggs.
This common species frequently rests on roads during the night, sometimes capturing insects under street lights. Their bright reflective eye-shine makes them easy to spot in the beams of vehicle headlights. They may however be stunned by bright lights and many are killed by vehicular traffic.
In the past, it was sometimes considered conspecific with Madagascar nightjar (Caprimulgus madagascariensis). Geographical variation is somewhat confused and the morphological differences of races is, to some extent, unclear. The species is sometimes treated as monotypic. Proposed races gurgaoni (NW India) and siamensis (N Thailand) are here subsumed within nominate. Two subspecies recognised.
Caprimulgus asiaticus asiaticus: Distributed from South East Pakistan to India, south Thailand and south Indochina
Caprimulgus asiaticus eidos: Sri Lanka.
The movements of the Indian Nightjar is poorly known. The nominate race is possibly sedentary, and also partially and locally migratory, e.g. in S Pakistan and S Myanmar, though movements are often not fully understood. There are records from NW Afghanistan (twice in Apr) which might pertain to vagrants, but have also been postulated to refer to a subsequently unrecorded breeding population that winters in India, whereas mentions in the literature for S Baluchistan (SE Iran) and Hari Rud Basin (NE Iran) are either dubious or in fact refer to the Afghanistan records listed above, respectively, although subsequently the species has been claimed in Seistan in Sept 2003. Other races appear to be sedentary.
Diet includes moths, dung beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and bugs. During non-breeding season, also takes flowers of Euphorbia caducifolia and possibly small mice (Mus cervicolor). The foraging behaviour is not fully documented, but these nightjars have been recorded feeding on insects attracted to artificial lights, and occasionally takes prey from ground. However, it mainly hunts in continuous flight.
The Indian Nightjar is not globally threatened and it is generally common and widespread throughout its range. In S Pakistan, it is locally common in Thatta, Badin and Thar Parkar districts only; it occurs in the Khirtar National Park. In India, it is found in several protected areas, e.g. Keoladeo Ghana National Park, and generally regarded as the commonest and most widespread nightjar there, but in contrast it is considered scarce in Nepal and rare in Bangladesh. In Sri Lanka, it is common in suitable habitats in the dry areas and less common in the wet areas; it is very common in the Yala National Park in the dry SE of the island; It also occurs in the Uda Walawe National Park. In Thailand, it is present in the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park.
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For a print of the beautiful birds from my various sojourns click on the button below to read my process and order a limited edition canvas.
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