Nightjar ID Poll

On Sunday (2 August) I atlased the Roodeplaatdam pentad - a pentad a few kilometers north-east of Pretoria. My favourite local patch and a pentad that I try to do on a regular basis. Sunday's visit was the day after lots of rain fell and it was really nice to be birding with all the dust of winter something of the past. The birds were also out in full force and during the first hour I recorded 46 species!!

The highlight of the morning was a nightjar sitting in the middle of a small track. It was so well camouflaged I nearly drove over it but luckily stopped a few meters short. I managed to take a few photos out of the car but then climbed out and walked within 2-3 meters from it, taking photographs with my not too impressive camera. The nightjar was just sitting there its eyes sometimes closed or opened partially. A really nice experience.

However as you all know it is not easy to identify nightjars if they are not calling and even after watching it for a long while I had no idea what species this was. I eventually chased it up to see the wing and tail pattern. It flew too quickly for me to have a decent view of the tail but I could see a clear "line" of white in the wings. At home I studied the photos in detail and asked the opinion of some people who know much more than me about this subject. However there is still no consensus about the identification of this bird!!!

So here is a challenge to you all. Study the photograph below and participate in the poll on the left hand side of this posting. You are also more than welcome to provide a comment below to motivate your choice.

Good luck and sorry no prizes!!!