Nightjars of the World – A Guide to the Caprimulgidae. 2026. Nigel Cleere. Illustrated by Dave Nurney. Helm Identification Guide, Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN: 9781472913487 Hardback, 512 pages. Also available as an eBook.​ Price: $95 £70.
Review by Frank Lambert
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This is the third guide that deals with nightjars written by Nigel Cleere. It is an update to his work on nightjars in the 1998 Pica Press guide, Nightjars: A Guide to Nightjars and Related Nightbirds (both guides illustrated by Dave Nurney), and to Nigel Cleere’s 2010 WILDGuides photographic guide to Nightjars, Potoos, Oilbird and Owlet-nightjars of the World. Whilst these two monographs covered nightjars and their close relatives, this new book, Nightjars of the World, is devoted exclusively to the nightjars, family Caprimulgidae. An impressive 55 page bibliography shows that a lot of work has gone into producing this series of books. Note that, in this review, I use the scientific names used by Cleere (2026).
Standard-winged Nightjar Macrodipteryx longipennis is an intra-African migrant. Breeding males have spectacular 'standards' (see plate below) but non-breeding males and females lack these (northern Senegal © Frank Lambert).
Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar (photo Ethiopia © Frank Lambert)
The illustrations are mostly the same paintings that featured in the 1998 guide, although of course the new taxonomy has necessitated some new artwork. New illustrations include Tschudi’s Nightjar Quechuavis decussata, Esmeraldas Nighthawk Nannochordeiles esmeraldae, Mexican Whip-poor-will Antrostomus arizonae, Amazonian Silky-tailed Nightjar A. mengali, Kalinowski’s Nightjar Uropsalis kalinowskii, Cayenne Nightjar Nyctidromus maculosus, Gmelin’s Nightjar Thermochalcis cayennensis, Tepui Nightjar Systellura roraimae and Great Eared Nightjar Lyncornis cerviniceps from southern India.
In some instances, illustrations by Dave Nurney have been replaced by new ones, for example, that of perched Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis, Blackish Nightjar Nyctipolus nigrescens and male White-winged Nightjar Eleothreptus candicans. For Spix’s Nighthawk Nyctiprogne leucopyga, the illustration is the same as that of Band-tailed Nightjar N. minuta, One mistake that a colleague noticed is that the illustrations of Plain Nightjar Caprimulgus inornatus and Star-spotted Nightjar C. stellatus have been reversed.
​A cryptic Blackish Nightjar roosting on a rock. The painting of this species in Nightjars of
the World seems to be quite different to its appearance in most photographs
(Mato Grosso, Brazil © Frank Lambert)
​Despite the huge amount of new information that has become available online since 1998, the sections in the Species Accounts on Identification, Voice, Habitat, Habits and Moult are often largely unchanged (indeed, sometimes identical) when compared to the same sections in Cleere and Nurney (1998). Surprisingly, sections on Similar Species found in the 1998 book are no longer provided. Sections on Food and Breeding have often been updated, however, and there is comprehensive text relating to synonymy and nomenclature, indicating where all the important specimens were collected and described, and which museum collections they are now to be found in. For some species, this takes up an entire page.
​The fifteen-page Introduction to the book is very similar to that in Cleere (1998). Hence, the bulk of the text in Nightjars of the World is not as different to the 1998 book as one might anticipate when considering that 28 years have elapsed since the first guide. Unsurprisingly, what has changed significantly since Cleere (1998) is the taxonomy followed. Additionally, unlike the 1998 book, this guide contains a superb set of photographs. Many of the photographs used are new, and typically of better quality than those in Cleere (2010). It should be noted that whilst Cleere (2010) was a photographic guide with minimal text, it did adopt some of the splits recognised in the current book.
​Long-tailed Nightjars Scotornis clarus roosting in a hedgerow in Senegal .
(photo © Frank Lambert)
Each species account has a distribution map, some of which are identical to those published in 1998, except that they are now in colour (e.g. Brown Nightjar Veles binotatus), whilst others are slightly different (e.g. Red-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus rufigena). However, not all maps are particularly accurate. Philippine Nightjar Rossornis manillensis, for example, has the same map as in 1998, but Allen (2020) indicates that there are four additional islands where it occurs. (also note that this map shows Palawan in two locations). Although the map for Sulawesi Nightjar Rossornis celebensis is slightly different, with the island of Buton being added to the species range, it still appears to miss large parts of the range of this species when compared to the map in the carefully researched 2nd edition of the Indonesian field guide by Eaton et al. (2021). Cleere (2026) only cites the first (2016) edition of this guide in his Bibliography.
​Distribution map for Mexican Whip-poor-will Antrostomus arizonae in Nightjars of the World. This species has been split from Eastern Whip-poor-will A. vociferus in the book.
Bonaparte’s Nightjar Caprimulgus concretus occurs locally in the lowlands of Sumatra and Borneo, below 600m, but the distribution map in Nightjars of the World shows it as occurring anywhere on these mountainous islands – it would have been very easy to have left the mountain blocks out of the distribution maps. In contrast, for Salvadori’s Nightjar C. pulchellus, a montane endemic in the same, Sundaic region, a more accurate map is provided by shading only the mountains. Nevertheless, a quick perusal of eBird records for this species shows that it occurs in some locations that are not mapped, with sound recordings verifying the records (e.g. Macaulay Library Catalog #79554). More realistic maps for these two Indonesian endemics are provided by Eaton et. al. (2021). Nevertheless, it should be noted that it is surprisingly easy to introduce errors to maps with a prolonged book project of this size, especially if an attempt is made to map distribution as accurately as possible
Salvadori’s Nightjar was recently discovered in Borneo, where it occurs in the isolated Meratus Mountains in the southeast. Here it calls from the top of the larger trees, making it very difficult to see well
(primary forest in the Meratus Mountains © Frank Lambert).
The single page section on Nightjar Classification in the Introduction to the book mentions that various authors have proposed, unsurprisingly for nocturnal species, that voice should be the primary taxonomic character for ascertaining generic and species limits. It is disappointing, therefore, to find that the Voice descriptions within the species accounts are not only very short and simple, often only one to two sentences, but that many of these descriptions are identical or very similar to those provided in 1998. No serious attempt has been made to clearly define any characteristics of vocalisations made by nightjars, for example by providing frequencies, notes per second, or length of gaps between notes, etc., all of which are useful characteristics for documenting differences between similar species. Since 1998, digital recordings have become the norm, and there are plenty of digital sound recordings available online for anyone to investigate.
Sonograms for several species of the thousands of recordings of nightjar that are freely available on xeno-canto.org
Two example nightjar flight songs recorded by Frank Lambert that
are freely available on xeno-canto.org​​​​
Montane Nightjar Nyctisyrigmus ruwenzorii guttifer (Nyika, Malawi)
Franklin's (previously Savanna) Nightjar - Eximiornis monticolus (Taiwan)
Examples of how the text on Voice is, in this reviewer’s opinion, inadequate and weak, include, for example, the song description for Golden Nightjar Eximiornis eximis. This merely states ‘The song is a series of evenly spaced knocking notes which may last for up to a minute or more’. This is the minimum that could really be said in describing the song. ​
​Meanwhile, the Voice section for Red-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus rufigena has the exact same wording provided in 1998 in Nightjars: A Guide to Nightjars and Related Nightbirds. Here, it mentions that ‘the flight call is a single- or double-noted cutow, although this has yet to be accurately described’. Yet there are examples of flight calls on the xeno-canto.com website, such as XC750486, as well a recording of bill snapping by a bird near a nest on the ground pretending to be injured (XC736897). These sounds only took me a few minutes to find – yet the latter is not mentioned in this book.
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The incredibly well-camouflaged Golden Nightjar reduces shadow by expanding its feathers outwards
and close to the ground (photo Senegal © Frank Lambert).
The taxonomy followed in Nightjars of the World does not follow recent version of IOC (Gill et. al. 2025) as far as I could tell, and the text was no doubt finalised before publication of AviList (2025). Nigel Cleere would appear to have made taxonomic decisions based on his own museum work and a variety of publications relating to nightjar taxonomy, some of which seem to have been dismissed (considered unreliable or insufficient for some reason) by Gill et. al. (2025) and, indeed, by AviList Core Team (2025). Nevertheless, AviList is at an early stage of development, and it seems very likely that the next iterations of this online list will elevate a lot of taxa to species level, including some nightjars. For this reason, I have not made a serious attempt to compare the taxonomy proposed by the AviList Core Team (2025) with that adopted by Cleere (2026) in Nightjars of the World.
Cleere (1998) recognised 90 species of nightjar, whilst Cleere (2010) recognised 100 species, but this latest book recognises 106 species. Two subfamilies are recognised in Nightjars of the World, namely Caprimulginae (99 species in 30 genera) and Eurostopodinae (7 species in one genus). In comparison, IOC v15.1 recognised 20 genera and 98 species (Gill et. al. 2025), whilst AviList (2025) recognised 22 genera and 98 species. Hence many of the taxonomic names and indeed some of the English names in this book will be unfamiliar to readers.
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Roosting Heinrich's Nightjars, one of the seven species of Eurostopodus in the subfamily Eurostopodinae (Central Sulawesi © Frank Lambert).​​
Splits since Cleere (1998) include Tepui Nightjar Systellura roraimae and Rufous-naped Nightjar S. ruficervix, both split from Band-winged Nightjar S. longirostris; Atlantic Silky-tailed Nightjar Antrostomus sericocaudatus split from Amazonian Silky-tailed Nightjar A. mengeli; Chirruping Nightjar Eximiornis griseatus and Franklin’s Nightjar E. monticolus both split from Savanna Nightjar E. affinis; Palau Nightjar Rossornis phalaena split from Jungle Nightjar R. indicus; Esmeraldas Nighthawk Nannochordeiles esmeraldae split from Least Nighthawk N. pusillus; and Spix’s Nighthawk Nyctiprogne leucopyga split from Band-tailed Nighthawk N. minuta; Mees’s Nightjar Rossornis meesi and Timor Nightjar R. ritae are split from Large-tailed Nightjar R. macrurus; and Abyssinian Nightjar Nyctisyrigmus poliocephalus is split from Montane Nightjar N. ruwenzorii (see Cleere 1995).
Part of a typical species account: Sulawesi Eared Nightjar is one of the splits from Great Eared Nightjar recognised by Cleere (2026)
Two additional species in the subfamily Eurostopodinae are recognised when compared to in the 1998 guide, with Solomons Nightjar E. nigripennis and New Caledonian Nightjar E. exul being split from White-throated Nightjar E. mystacalis. However, two others, Malaysian Eared Nightjar Lyncornis temminckii and Great Eared Nightjar L. cerviniceps are no longer considered to be in the genus Eurostopodus and have been moved to the subfamily Caprimulginae. Within Lyncornis, Long Eared Nightjar L. macrotis, Simeulue Eared Nightjar L. jacobsoni and Sulawesi Eared Nightjar L. macropterus have all been split from Great Eared Nightjar L. cerviniceps. Surprisingly, the very isolated population of Great Eared Nightjar in the Western Ghats, is no longer recognised as a subspecies (treated as bourdilloni by Cleere in 1998). This revision of the Eurostopodus and Lyncornis taxonomy is based on Sangster et al. (2022) and whilst the taxonomy of Eurostopodus is the same as that in Avilist (2026), Avilist still treats macropterus, macrotis, jacobsoni, and bourdilloni as subspecies of Great Eared Nightjar.
Two recordings by Frank Lambert of Lyncornis taxa that have been split in Nightjars of the World. The population on the small island of Simeulue, off the northwest coast of Sumatra, is very isolated but sounds very similar to the mainland Asian population (Great Eared).
Two appendices end the book. Whilst Appendix 1 lists extinct taxa, Appendix 2 lists nightjar taxa considered to be incertae sedis, (see # in references below) including Nechisar Nightjar (which, oddly, is not in the index). This was included as a full species Caprimulgus solala in Cleere (1998) but has now been shown to be a hybrid species. Another taxon included as a full species in 1998 was the enigmatic ‘Vaurie’s Nightjar C. centralasicus’, now believed to be a synonym of Eurasian Nightjar
Eurasian Nightjar is one of the most widespread species in this alluring group of nocturnal species (migrant at Cley Marshes, UK © Frank Lambert).
Despite some shortcomings, this book represents the most comprehensive resource about the latest thinking on nightjar taxonomy and their relationships, their appearance, biology, and distribution, whilst providing a fantastic set of around 500 relevant photographs and a considerable amount of new artwork. However, if you are interested in vocalisations, which are obviously difficult to describe accurately in a book, Nightjars of the World is not particularly helpful, and I recommend referring to xeno-canto.org, where this link will lead you (in March 2026) to 6,847 recordings from 88 species of nightjar: Results for 'caprimulgidae' :: page 1 :: xeno-canto.
Overall, however, Nigel Cleere has again provided us with an extremely useful resource, and I am very pleased to own this modern version, with its noteworthy insights and perspectives on nightjar taxonomy, and incredible photos of these wonderful birds
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Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis on its nest - this is the most widespread species in the New World, and hence relatively well-known (Madre de Dios, Peru © Frank Lambert).
Returning from a tiny islet inhabited by the rare and enigmatic Solomons Nightjar Eurostopodus nigripennis (Solomon Islands © Frank Lambert).
References Cited
Allen, D. 2020. Birds of the Philippines. Lynx Edicions Barcelona.
Avilist / AviList Core Team. 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025. https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025.
Cleere, N. 1995. The identification, taxonomy and distribution of Mountain Nightjar Caprimulgus poliocephalus/ Fiery-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus pectoralis complex. Bull. African Bird Club 2: 86-97.
Cleere, N. & Nurney, D. 1998. Nightjars: A Guide to Nightjars and Related Nightbirds. Pica Press, Robertsbridge.
Cleere, N. 2010. Nightjars, Potoos, Frogmouths, Oilbird and Owlet Nightjars. WILDGuides, Hampshire.
Eaton, J.A., van Balen, B., Brickle, N.W. & Rheindt, F.E. 2021. Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea. 2nd Edition. Lynx Edicions Barcelona.
Gill, F., Donsker, D. & Rasmussen, P. (eds). 2025. IOC World Bird List (v15.1).
Sangster, G., King, B.F., Irestedt. M. & Ericson, P.G.P. 2022. Integrative taxonomy of eared nightjars (Aves: Lyncornis) underscores the complementarity of morphology, vocalizations and DNA evidence. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 196: 1464–1484.
# Incertae sedis is a Latin term meaning "of uncertain placement". It is used in biology to refer to a taxonomic group whose broader relationships are unknown or undefined, often because the group is newly discovered or taxonomically challenging. Essentially, it signifies a taxon that is difficult to place within the larger taxonomic scheme.
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