This is the standard winged nightjar and it has one singular stupidly big feather on each wing... if you even care.
Love this guy
That’s standard as in “pennant” or “banner”, not standard as in “normal”.
But it’s not a pennant-winged nightjar. THIS is a pennant-winged nightjar… if you even care.
can’t forget the Lyre-tailed Nightjar! there’s actually a number of these ridiculous guys, and they’re partly why caprimulgiforms are some of my favorite birds
also the Sickle-winged Nightjar, which is. come on, that’s just a weird moth
(Whispers) talk about their mouths now
and if we’re going to make this onto a full-on nightjar weirdness appreciation post, I feel like I’ve got to mention their pectinate claws:
photo from here:
comb-shaped claws on the middle toe have evolved multiple times among a diverse variety of birds, found in nightjars, barn owls, herons, frigatebirds, and a few other groups. and despite looking exactly like they’re used for preening out feather parasites, they might have other uses for keeping birds clean that we haven’t yet identified:
