CreatureData

Indian nightjar

Caprimulgus asiaticus Latham, 1790

LCLeast Concernbirds

The Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) is a species in the family Caprimulgidae, order Caprimulgiformes. Recorded adults weigh 42 g to 46 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus)
Photo: Badjoby · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the Indian nightjar

Weight
42 g – 46 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Aerialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the Indian nightjar live?

Not recorded

What is the Indian nightjar?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) is a small nightjar which is a resident breeder in open lands across South Asia and Southeast Asia. Like most nightjars it is crepuscular and is best detected from its characteristic calls at dawn and dusk that have been likened to a stone skipping on a frozen lake - a series of clicks that become shorter and more rapid. They are sometimes spotted on roads when their eyes gleam red in the spotlight of a vehicle. There is considerable plumage variation across its range and can be hard to differentiate from other nightjars in the region especially in the field.

From the Wikipedia article “Indian nightjar” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indian_nightjar&oldid=1347781419), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

What does the Indian nightjar sound like?

Gypsypkd · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Is the Indian nightjar endangered?

The Indian nightjar is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the Indian nightjar classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderCaprimulgiformes
  5. familyCaprimulgidae
  6. genusCaprimulgus
  7. SpeciesCaprimulgus asiaticus Latham, 1790
Other names and names in other languages (37)
  • سبد هنديArabic
  • enganyapastors de l'ÍndiaCatalan
  • lelek džunglovýCzech
  • troellwr IndiaWelsh
  • Indisk NatravnDanish
  • HinduziegenmelkerGerman
  • Hindu-NachtschwalbeGerman
  • HindunachtschwalbeGerman
  • IndiennachtschwalbeGerman
  • hindia kaprimulgoEsperanto
  • Chotacabras hindúSpanish
  • džungli-öösorrEstonian
  • intiankehrääjäFinnish
  • Engoulevent indienFrench
  • Tuirne IndiachIrish
  • ogrličasti leganjCroatian
  • hindu lappantyúHungarian
  • Succiacapre indianoItalian
  • インドヨタカJapanese
  • indinis lėlysLithuanian
  • Indijas vakarlēpisLatvian
  • നാട്ടുരാച്ചുക്ക്Malayalam
  • भारतीय रातवाMarathi
  • HindoenachtzwaluwDutch
  • Grijze NachtzwaluwDutch
  • bengalnattravnNorwegian
  • lelek krótkoskrzydłyPolish
  • noitibó-indianoPortuguese
  • Индийский козодойRussian
  • lelek krpatýSlovak
  • Indijski leganjSerbian
  • indisk nattskärraSwedish
  • นกตบยุงเล็กThai
  • Hint ÇobanaldatanıTurkish
  • дрімлюга індійськийUkrainian
  • 印度夜鷹Chinese
  • 印度夜鹰Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the Indian nightjar

Other species in the same genus Caprimulgus.

CompareIndian nightjar vs European nightjarIndian nightjar vs Red-necked nightjarIndian nightjar vs Egyptian nightjarIndian nightjar vs Large-tailed nightjar

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the Indian nightjar?

An adult Indian nightjar weighs 42 g – 46 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the Indian nightjar endangered?

The Indian nightjar is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the Indian nightjar?

The Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) belongs to the family Caprimulgidae in the order Caprimulgiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-nightjar

MLA

“Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-nightjar.

BibTeX
@misc{indian_nightjar_2026,
  title = {Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/indian-nightjar},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}