I02 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF 



Family CAPRIMULGIDiE. Genus Caprimulgus. 



EGYPTIAN NIGHTJAR. 



Caprimulgus ^gyptius, Lichtensteiji. 



(British : Very rare abnormal spring migrant.) 



Single Brooded probably. Laying season, June and July. 



Breeding area: South-central Palsearctic and North- 

 eastern Ethiopian regions. The Egyptian Nightjar breeds 

 in Nubia, Egypt, probably Arabia, Baluchistan, and 

 Western Turkestan. 



Breeding habits : The Egyptian Nightjar is another 

 species whose habits have been little studied by natural- 

 i.sts. It is a bird of the desert regions, and, due allow- 

 ance being made for the difference of habitat, closely 

 resembles the Common Nightjar in its economy and 

 movements. Its favourite haunts are sandy plains 

 covered with scrubby vegetation. On migration it is 

 more or less gregarious, but during the breeding season 

 lives in scattered pairs. It appears to pair annually, and 

 the males are the first to arrive at the nesting grounds. 

 The nest is a mere depression in the sand, either amongst 

 esparto grass, or under the shelter of an acacia or tamarisk 

 bush. The bird is a close sitter, as might naturally be 

 expected in a species so closely resembling in colour the 

 ground on which it rests, but when flushed has been 

 observed to run from the shelter of one bush to that of 

 another, with throat extended and uttering a croaking 

 note. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Egyptian Nightjar are two in number, 

 and resemble closely those of the Common Nightjar, but 

 according to Von Heuglin, who met with this bird 

 breeding on some sandy islands in Dongola, they are a 



