Do nightjars build a nest?

No. Nightjars lay their eggs directly on the ground and do not construct a nest. Their breeding habitat is open pine woodland, heathland, and forest clearings, and by day the adults rest on the ground or along a branch, where mottled brown and grey plumage provides effective camouflage. Because the eggs sit on bare ground, the guide's advice for Latvia is to avoid approaching calling birds closely, since a nest may be nearby. Listening from a distance at dusk is the recommended way to confirm their presence. The nightjar is not the only ground-nester in the guide: lapwings and curlews lay in shallow ground scrapes, and redshanks nest on the ground among vegetation. But the nightjar is the one entry that dispenses with any nest structure at all.

Sources

• Nightjars
• Lapwings
• Curlews
• Redshanks

Related questions

• /ask/how-do-you-recognise-a-nightjar
• /ask/what-do-nightjars-eat-and-how-do-they-hunt
• /ask/where-do-nightjars-spend-the-winter

Ask another question at /ask/<your-question-as-words>. This answer: /ask/do-nightjars-build-a-nest