Rufous-cheeked Nightjar Caprimulgus rufigena Scientific name definitions

23–24 cm; male 48–65 g, female 46–66 g. Sexually dimorphic. Upper­parts greyish-brown streaked blackish-brown; narrowish buff or tawny-buff nuchal collar  ; wing-coverts greyish-brown, spotted tawny and buff, with broad buffish line along scapulars; white throat patch; underparts greyish-brown spotted buff, becoming buff barred brown on belly and flanks. Male has large white spot on four outermost primaries and white tips to two outermost tail feathers; female has smaller white wing spots, usually tinged tawny, and buff tips to two outermost tail feathers. Iris  brown, bill blackish, legs and feet brownish-flesh. Generally smaller than C. europaeus, which has indistinct or no nuchal collar and shows buff line across wing-coverts, female lacking white on wings and tail. C. fraenatus is darker and more heavily spotted; male has broader white tips to two outermost tail feathers; female has larger pale buff wing spots and broader buff tips to two outermost tail feathers. Immature of present species similar to adult but paler. Race damarensis is paler and greyer with upperparts more thinly streaked.

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Winters mainly in Nigeria and Cameroon.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Mainly open wooded savanna, miombo woodland, woodland edges and clearings, semi-arid acacia scrubland and semi-deserts; also in plantations and on sparsely vegetated hillsides. Recorded from sea-level to 1600 m.

Breeds Sept–Nov in Angola and Zambia, Sept–Jan in Botswana, and Sept–Dec in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Monogamous; territorial. Males defend territories by regular singing at potential nest sites; females and other males are attracted to these sites; intruding males are challenged vocally on the ground and during aerial chases; females test possible nest spots, while the resident male watches, sings and/or follows and displays (1 Jackson, H.D. (2015). Rufous-cheeked Nightjar Caprimulgus rufigena behaviour during the breeding season in Zimbabwe. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 135(3): 247–266. Close ). Nest-site partially shaded or in open, in burnt area, dry woodland, or occasionally damp vlei, recently felled woodland or open agricultural country; no nest, eggs often laid on bare earth, tends to avoid dense leaf litter. Clutch 1–2 eggs, elliptical, glossy, whitish, buffish or pale pinkish-cream, faintly but densely spotted and blotched brown, grey and lilac, occasionally unmarked; incubation period generally 15–17 days, beginning with first egg; chick covered in greyish-white and rufous down, fledges within 18–20 days. Egg losses appear to be high, but replacement clutches are sometimes laid; females incubate by day, males at night; both may feed or roost outside the territory (1 Jackson, H.D. (2015). Rufous-cheeked Nightjar Caprimulgus rufigena behaviour during the breeding season in Zimbabwe. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 135(3): 247–266. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Frequent to locally common in suitable habitat during breeding season. Few data available on population levels; in S Zambia, common in Choma region, possibly scarce at all other localities; widespread in Zimbabwe, mainly on high veld; widely distributed and fairly common in most regions in Botswana; widespread and fairly common in South Africa, though apparently absent from much of E coast and from Natal; absent from coastal areas of W Namibia. On wintering grounds, frequent but widely distributed in wooded country, especially in Cameroon; rare in Nigeria, where only occasionally recorded at 1–4 localities; local and rare in Darfur region of Sudan. Present in several protected areas, including Kafue National Park (S Zambia), Hwange National Park (SW Zimbabwe) and Etosha National Park (Namibia).