Talk:Nightjar

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Untitled

synonym Nightjar Pestisides

I remember seeing them every evening and early mornings in Eastern Canada. We called them Mosquito Hawks but now see other names:

Nighthawk
Bullbat
MosquitoHawk
NightJar
GoatSucker

(Chordeiles minor)

They seem extremely rare now and talk of Neonicotinoid Pesticides being the problem. I have not seen one in many years. A few sightings reported on Twitter from time to time. Mother Earth explains Mother Earth News explains

A Facebook Group on the subject now:

Facebook Discussion Group and Information

Tampasailor (talk) 22:41, 21 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Nightjar calls

I'm amazed that there is no mention here of the wonderful calls of these birds. Every reference books mentions the topic. Totnesmartin 21:50, 23 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Search youtube "Nightjar call" and you will see many video postings.

Tampasailor (talk) 22:56, 21 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hummingbird Evolution study?

Should we add some mention about this new genetic study which seems to note that nightjars and hummingbirds are evolutionarily related? --Fshy (talk) 19:54, 27 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There is a discussion about the implications of that research at the WP:BIRD talk page. Very curious. Sabine's Sunbird talk 03:58, 28 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Marty Willson-Piper album

I dunno how to work this here electric box, but Nightjar is also an album by a guitarist from The Church (y'know - "Under the Milky Way"?) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.235.255.182 (talk) 21:54, 10 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Distribution?

The article opens with the statement that nightjars are on every continent except Antarctica and some islands such as Madagascar and the Seychelles. But further down there is a picture of a Madagascar nightjar. ????

"Goat sucker" listed at Redirects for discussion

An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect Goat sucker and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 February 10#Goat sucker until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. MB 02:42, 10 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Elton John quote removal

the Elton John quote cited at the end of the popular culture section doesn't mention nightjars, it's an unnecessary addition to the article. can someone remove it? Cat-with-the-'tism (talk) 16:56, 12 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

It is about nightjars. Invasive Spices (talk) 12 December 2022 (UTC)

Self-Contradiction in the Article

This article technically contradicts itself, and in the same section, too: it states they are not found in the Seychelles: "Nightjars inhabit all continents other than Antarctica, as well as some island groups such as Madagascar, the Seychelles, New Caledonia and the islands of Caribbean."

Then, the caption for an image in the very same section: "The Madagascar nightjar is restricted to the islands of Madagascar and the Seychelles."

The reason for this confusion is understandable; it's apparently only found on Aldabra in the Seychelles, which is not on the 'Seychelles Bank.' Still, I think it may be worth it to change the first sentence I quoted to this: "Nightjars inhabit all continents other than Antarctica, as well as some island groups such as the Seychelles Bank and New Caledonia."

That original sentence was *really* wrong; there is literally an Antillean nighthawk. It also mentioned they aren't found on Madagascar, right next to a text box stating the exact opposite. I'm going to edit in the mention of the Seychelles Bank as well, I think it's an appropriate compromise, but someone else can debate. ~2025-41701-75 (talk) 12:52, 25 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think there is a contradiction, although it took a while to see why you thought there was. It says "Nightjars inhabit all continents other than Antarctica" and then, after a comma, adds the island groups where they are also found. The "other than" refers to Antarctica, not the island groups such as the Seychelles. A quibble might be whether Madagascar and the Caribbean Islands are part of the continents of Africa and North America, which makes the "as well as" redundant. Using two sentences might make it clearer. — Jts1882 | talk 16:10, 25 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]