Skip to content
Bioestrecho
Menu

Your portal

My list
Sign in

Species › Birds

Red-necked Nightjar

Caprimulgus ruficollis

Order
Caprimulgiformes
Family
Caprimulgidae
Presence in the Strait
Seasonal
Abundance
common
Protection in Spain
Special protection (List)
In Spanish
Chotacabras cuellirrojo

35% of its open observations in the area are from September.

Photograph: Samuel Lopez Ligero, CC BY 3.0, vía Wikimedia Commons

Length
30–32 cm
Wingspan
58–64 cm
Weight
90 g
0204060LENGTH30–32 cmWINGSPAN58–64 cmcentimetres

Presence in the Strait

Common summer visitor to open areas.

Identification

Nocturnal, medium-sized with highly cryptic plumage. Large, flat head and short bill. Very wide mouth, adapted to catching insects. Rusty-red nape. Long, broad tail and wings with white spots near tips, less noticeable in females. They can be located at night by their monotonous loudcall «cutoc-cutoc».

Movements

Peaks in 1st hf. May and 2nd hf. September.

Ring recoveries

Seville (3). Caprimulgidae Chotacabras Europeo Chotacabras Cuellirrojo

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Gallery

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.