Scientific name:
Caprimuldidae

Natural spread:
Europe, North-Africa, Asia

the family of the actual night-swallows or night swallows is the largest group of the night-swallows far with 67-79 types. This over whole Europe, North-Africa, west-Siberia and Near east as far as to the Baikalsee as well as as far as to the Mongolia, Turkestan, cashmere and Pakistan spread, 27 cm long night-swallow (Caprimulgus europaeus) gave its popular name "Night swallow" to the entire family. According to the saga, these birds should suck the milk the goats at night namely. Since night swallows go in the late twilight at insect-hunt and particularly also pets therefore fly around on the pasture, that works very attractively on all sorts of insects, it is comprehensible that otherwise one the food-acquisition of this so unknown, because during the day completely inactive, night-swallows with the pasture-livestock in direct context brought.

Spread Night swallows are widespread with exception of New Zealand and some Pacific islands world-wide with what the types of the restrained and colder areas undertake wide hikes to the winter in order not to starve.

Way of life However, night-swallows live exclusively from insects, who catch it mainly in the soundless, fast zigzag-flight, also at the ground from time to time picks up. With exception some of less types (night-swallows) rests night swallows during that of light day - and dark night-hours. they either sit motionless on a branch (never crosswise to it) on that occasion with almost completely closed eyes alongside or flat on the ground. You finely brown, black, gray and white patterned plumage offer night swallow an excellent camouflage so that they from it-fly also with strong threat through getting closer enemies only at the last moment. In moonlit nights, if the brightness still is enough in far until in the night, night swallows very late undertake loot-flights as well.

Shape Also a whole row of anatomical characteristics connects the individual night swallow-types together: small beaks with one wide ones, very mouth-columns far to be opened big, very photosensitive eyes long, sharpened wings and also long tails. With many types, the males differ in white "insignia" at the tail or at the Handschwingen as well as through flag-nicely extended tax-feathers or Handschwingen of female night-swallows. The big beak-opening picks up the night-insects like a Kescher together with the stiff, bristle-good Tastfedern of the mouth-surroundings. The claws of the means-toes carry perforations at the underside, that is used for the plumage-care as "comb"; also, the 4 have. Toe (outside-toe) a phalanx less than with other birds, who have 5 phalanxes. The structure of the Syrinx and further common anatomical characteristics of the night swallows construct the palate-roof.

Types The total-length is with the individual types between 15 and 33 cm; some night swallow-males, like Z. B. those of the 23-25 cm long lyre-night-swallows (Chropsalis lyra) from west-Venezuela, East-Colombia and Peru, enormously extended outer tail-feathers train, (until 55 cm of length) so that the birds of the beak - as far as to the tail-top 68-80 cm of total-length reaches. With the fork-night-swallow (Chropsalis segmentata) from the Andes-region of Colombia until Bolivia, the males with its extended tails become 50-60 cm long while the total-length of the females amounts to 23-25 cm. One of the smallest types, the dwarf-night-swallow (Chordeiles pusillus), who is spread far about the light forests and savannas of South America of South-Colombia, South-Venezuela and west-Guyana until East-Brazil, is with only 15-17,5 cm of total-length. Also the 22,5-25 cm long Pauraki or Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis) have an unusually gigantic Brutareal (from South-Texas to northwest-Peru, Bolivia, north-east-Argentina as far as to the Rio Grande do Sul as well as on Trinidad). These night swallows prefer densely overgrown terrain, occurs also in savannas, however.

Brood-biology Brood-habits of the other night-swallows shall the reproductive-habits in place of them - largely similar - here the also in Europe of brooding night swallow (Caprimulgus europaeus) is portrayed. The type Caprimulgus is the biggest of its family far with 28 types even if more exact knowledge about the individual types will result in another systematic differentiation surely.

Like all other night-swallows, the night swallow puts its 2 eggs (3,1 x 2,2 cm big) directly on the ground, with what it open forests, heath-areas, forest-edges and bald-hits as well as also bush - and tree-existed semi-deserts and dune-areas as suitable brood-biotopes visits.

The brood-period begins from end May or, according to spread-area, also only in July. Normally, night swallows pull up 2 yearly-broods. The brood-duration amounts to 16-18 (- 21) days, with what the 2. Egg usually 36 hours after the 1. it is set aside. Both partners take turns with the brood-business, at what the female bird usually sits on the eggs during the day and protects the eggs well camouflaged anyway already through its brown speckles additionally with its camouflage-plumage.

The boys are place-stools. they slip of each other with 1-2 days of distance and carry a brown, long Dunenkleid. Young night swallows can see slips immediately after it and can run around already after few days. The alto-birds move both the eggs and squabs at a more favorable place from time to time. Both parents feed its offspring together, with what the boys take the insect-food directly from the pharynx of the alto-birds, by embracing the parental beak with far torn mouth.

As soon as the female begins with the next brood after approximately 2 weeks, the male night swallow alone leads the offspring, until the boys in the age of 17-19 days fully-fledged and finally with 31-34 days independent becomes.

Another special quality of many night swallows is its ability to fall with unfavorable food and weather-conditions into a motionless retirement with strongly reduced metabolism-activity. Also during the usual daily and nightly breaks (outside the twilight-phases), the body-temperature sinks considerably with night swallows.