Over summer I occasionally heard an Owlet-nightjar or two calling at night.
Today I nearly stepped on one as I went to turn off our bore pump, the shadow of which was part of the camouflage of the bird:
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Very interesting Woko - I thought these were primarily nocturnal birds so I am wondering about the health of this bird - can you give any additional information?
Alison
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"the earth is not only for humans, but for all animals and living things."
Qyn, I wondered too about this bird's health as it only blinked when I almost stepped on it. However, it flew off competently when I attempted to take a side on photo. It's whiskers seem to be undeveloped so I think it might be a juvenile.
The way it's laying on the ground looks very much like the birds that flew into my windows, the way the wings are spread out while they recover from any shock, just before they are well enough to fly off.I've never seen one from that close, could it be a young one?
M-L
Sorry Woko, you also think it was a young bird.
M-L
I suppose it could have stunned itself by flying into our large window but it was about 30 metres from the window, Araminta. I'll probably never know.
How gorgeous is that guy (or girl) Woko! Just brilliant. It looks a fairly normal position for ground roosting with these guys to me to be honest. I have a friend who worked for many years as a Wildlife Carer on the mainland before she had to "retire" due to ill health. I can remember her telling me that a surprising proportion of Nightjars that were brought in for rehab were actually injured as a result of Bushwalkers accidentally treading on them. Sounds crackers, but true. You'd think they'd be spooked off but apparently some will just trust their incredible camouflage and stay put.
West Coast Tasmania
Being a nightjar I suppose it's reasonable to expect the Australian Owlet-nightjar will roost on the ground. However, I could find nothing about such behavior in the Reader' Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds so your friend's information is most interesting, Annie.
Also, it's occurred to me that the reason for the presence of Owlet-nightjars in my neck of the woods might be because there are less Starlings taking up nearby tree hollows.