---
title: "Indian Nightjar"
description: "Caprimulgus asiaticus — Birds. The Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) is a small nightjar which is a resident breeder in open lands across South Asia and Southeast Asia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/indian-nightjar
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Indian Nightjar

> Caprimulgus asiaticus — Birds. The Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) is a small nightjar which is a resident breeder in open lands across South Asia and Southeast Asia.

- Scientific name: *Caprimulgus asiaticus*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Fields & meadows)
- iNaturalist observations: 1187
- Wikidata: [Q1151175](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1151175)
- iNaturalist taxon: [19455](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/19455)

## Names

- en: Indian Nightjar
- de: Hinduziegenmelker
- es: Chotacabras Hindú
- fr: Engoulevent indien
- nl: Hindoenachtzwaluw
- pl: Lelek krótkoskrzydły

## Countries with the most observations

IN (625), TH (165), LK (49), VN (15), BD (4)

## Summary

The Indian nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus) is a small nightjar which is a resident breeder in open lands across South Asia and Southeast Asia. Like most nightjars it is crepuscular and is best detected from its characteristic calls at dawn and dusk that have been likened to a stone skipping on a frozen lake - a series of clicks that become shorter and more rapid. They are sometimes spotted on roads when their eyes gleam red in the spotlight of a vehicle. There is considerable plumage variation across its range and can be hard to differentiate from other nightjars in the region especially in the field.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_nightjar

## Photo

![Indian Nightjar](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/indian-nightjar/medium.jpg)

Photo: S.MORE · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/38715428

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/indian-nightjar?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).