April-May 2018

We were wandering on the rock plateaus close to Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary (Goa).

It was a sunny morning and we were scanning the nearby shrubbery and trees for birds. As we moved closer to an almost barren rock patch, something fluttered from the ground, very close to us. What was that? Did we just flush a bird from a rocky patch?! How did we not see the bird?!

It is quite common to flush birds like quails when we are walking in a grassy patch. They flutter away loudly when you are just one feet away. But this was different. There was no “small shrubs, herbs or tall grass” on this patch. It was a barren rock with just a few strands of dried grass. Yet we missed the bird that was on the ground.

We quickly scanned the area and we found the bird flying close by. It was a Nightjar! Nightjars are crepuscular hunters, so one usually spots them during dusk. But here we were seeing a Nightjar sit in broad daylight on a barren rock patch on a sunny day. Something seemed odd. We looked on the ground again wondering why it was sitting there in the first place and then we spotted it!!!

Knowing now that the bird was actually sitting close to its egg, we walked away from the site immediately. We observed the area for several minutes from far, hoping that the bird would come back soon. And indeed it did! We saw the Nightjar land on a specific spot close to the egg, so we put our binoculars at the same spot, but we could not spot the bird!! It was just crazy!!

Image: Nightjars are among the coolest camouflagers. They sport cryptic plumage which blends completely with the brown-black-grey habitat they inhabit.

It was just amazing to see this bird disappear in front of our eyes. We took about 10 minutes to figure out where the bird was. The bird was identified as Jungle Nightjar later by its call. This cryptic confrontation with the Jungle Nightjar was truly an amazing experience! I leave you with this photo, for you to spot both the egg and the Nightjar! Enjoy!

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