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Goatsuckers

Linda Hufford

Natural History

The goatsuckers are classified within the order Caprimulgiformes, which consists of five diverse
but fascinating families with many unusual metabolic and lifestyle adaptations. The goatsuckers’
family Caprimulgidae, nighthawks, and nightjars, will be discussed in this chapter in detail as
representatives of their order.
Other Caprimulgids include the owlet‐nightjars (Aegothelidae), sometimes referred to as moth
owls in their native Australasia. These tiny long‐tailed birds with an upright posture are capable of
torpor during cold days. Also Australasian natives, the Frogmouths (Podargidae) are named quite
descriptively for their wide cavernous mouths as well as their booming night sound. Prey consists of
mostly insects, some of which are enticed within range by an odor exuded from the mouth of the
bird. Frogmouths are kept in many zoological institutions because, unlike many birds in this order,
they can adapt to eating out of dishes. Potoos (Nyctibiidae) are South American birds that have a
unique feature of the eyelids: two small slits that allow the bird to see even with the eyes closed.
Perched on a tree with their beaks upraised, these long‐clawed birds look like broken branches.
Among the most interesting and unique of all birds, the Oilbirds (Steatornithidae) of South America
are so named because the young are fed rich, oily fruits until at about 30 days of age when they are
150% the weight of the adults. At one time, the chicks were rendered to make torch oil. These cave‐
dwelling frugivores are thought to be unique in that they use echolocation in near‐total darkness.
The term goatsucker (family Caprimulgidae) is a common inclusive name that includes subfami-
lies of the New World nighthawks (Chordeilinae) and the typical nightjars (Caprimulginae). In
North America, the birds known by the common names of Chuck Will’s Widow, Common
Pauraque, Whip‐poor‐will, Common Poorwill, and Buff‐collared Nightjars are considered night-
jars. Those known as Common Nighthawks, Antillean Nighthawks, and Lesser Nighthawks are
usually referred to as nighthawks. Surprisingly few ornithological studies have been conducted on
these birds.
Both subfamilies have common general physical traits. Their large flat heads blend into a
rounded body to give the appearance of the birds’ having no necks. A tiny bill with prominent
nares (the nostrils of which are flexible tubes) conceals a cavernous mouth that is shockingly large
when opened (Figure 32.1). Short, tiny, weak legs seem to disappear when the bird is perched.
Caprimulgids have an anisodactyl toe arrangement with three toes forward and one toe back, and

Hand-Rearing Birds, Second Edition. Edited by Rebecca S. Duerr and Laurie J. Gage.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.