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European Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeus

Classification

Class
Aves

The European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northwestern China. The Latin generic name refers to the old myth that the nocturnal nightjar suckled from goats, causing them to cease to give milk. The six subspecies differ clinally, the birds becoming smaller and paler towards the east of the range.

Distribution

(c) Kudaibergen Amirekul, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Kudaibergen Amirekul · CC-BY-SA
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Countries in the Picchu catalog
Spain · 10,298France · 9,526Netherlands · 8,522United Kingdom · 5,236Germany · 1,100Italy · 902Belgium · 257Switzerland · 1