Fiery-necked Nightjar

An adult fiery-necked nightjar is relatively small measuring between 23 and 25 centimeters. Their plumage is mostly a variegated grayish-brown and brownish-white colour. The fiery-necked nightjar has a distinct rufous collar, which are tawny coloured feathers located at the back of the neck, giving the species its common name. They have a large white throat patch. The feathers around their eyes and at their shoulders are chestnut brown. They have a light colored crown at the top of their head with a darker spot at the center. Black spots run down on either side the scapulas. Their under feathers are brown, speckled and barred brownish white. Their tail is roughly square-shaped. The fiery-necked nightjar's beak is darkly coloured and its eyes are entirely black. This species is also sexually dimorphic. The male has white spots on the four outermost wing feathers (the primaries) and white tips on the two outermost tail feathers. These white spots are much smaller and a bit more buff-coloured on the female. The fiery-necked nightjar have long rictal bristles (or stiff hair-like feathers) around their beak which is usually a distinguishing feature in nightjars. These rictal bristles can grow up to 20 mm long and the fiery-necked nightjar can have up to 8 of them on either side of their face. The rictal bristles take 18 days to grow on newly born chicks. …

The fiery-necked nightjar is widely distributed across most of south-eastern Africa, namely South Sudan, Kenya, central Tanzania, Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. It has also been seen in some central and west African countries like Gambia, Senegal, western Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Cameroon. The fiery-necked nightjar always stays within the African continent. It will only migrate back to the same breeding location every year for breeding season, but it never strays too far from its homerange. It is a terrestrial bird species. It is usually found in forests, savannas, shrublands and grasslands. It is most common to encounter this nightjar species in Brachystegia dominated woodland savannas but also in other deciduous woodlands in southern Africa. It can also be found in scrublands with acacia and eucalyptus plantations and sometimes in suburban gardens surrounded by trees.

The fiery-necked nightjar is an insectivore, meaning it feeds on mostly insects. Species from almost every insect family have been recorded to be in their diet, however, there are certain insects they tend to prefer. In fact, butterflies, moths, beetles, cockroaches, termites and mantids were found most often when the fiery-necked nightjar diet was analyzed. To forage for these insects, the fiery-necked nightjar uses a technique called "hawking". This consists of the bird swooping off of a perch to catch an insect while in flight. When feeding their hatchlings, the parents only feed them when the chick grasps the parents beak.