What do nightjars eat and how do they hunt?

Nightjars eat moths, beetles, and other flying insects. They hunt at dusk, catching insects on the wing with a wide gape that belies the small-looking bill. The guide describes the nightjar as a nocturnal insect hunter: during the day it rests camouflaged on the ground or along a branch, and feeding begins as light fades. Its hunting grounds are the open pine woodland, heathland, and forest clearings it breeds in. This sets it apart from the other insect-eaters in the guide. The hoopoe probes the soil for large insects and larvae with its long, slightly curved bill, and the lapwing takes earthworms and other small soil invertebrates from wet meadows and fields, both feeding on the ground rather than in the air.

Sources

• Nightjars
• Hoopoe
• Lapwings

Related questions

• /ask/how-do-you-recognise-a-nightjar
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• /ask/where-do-nightjars-spend-the-winter

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