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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Grey Nightjar

Caprimulgus indicus Latham, 1790

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Jungle nightjar Caprimulgus indicus photographed in the Anamalai hills, India

Jungle nightjar Caprimulgus indicus photographed in the Anamalai hills, India

Divya Mudappa · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image source

Provider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.

Open encyclopedia reference

The jungle nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus) is a species of nightjar found in the Indian subcontinent. It is found mainly on the edge of forests where it is seen or heard at dusk. The taxonomy of this and related nightjars is complex and a range of treatments have been followed that cover this and several other nightjars in the Asian region. It was formerly called the grey nightjar or Indian jungle nightjar and sometimes included the East Asian grey nightjar (C. jotaka) as a subspecies.

Wikipedia contributors, Jungle nightjar; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:25:35.858801+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Caprimulgus indicus Latham, 1790
Name authority
Latham, 1790
Common name
Grey Nightjar
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Caprimulgiformes
Family
Caprimulgidae
Genus
Caprimulgus
Extinction status
Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classAves
  9. orderCaprimulgiformes
  10. familyCaprimulgidae
  11. genusCaprimulgus Linnaeus, 1758
  12. speciesCaprimulgus indicus Latham, 1790

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Caprimulgus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Egyptian NightjarCaprimulgus aegyptius M. H. K. Lichtenstein, 1823CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Jerdon's NightjarCaprimulgus atripennis Jerdon, 1845CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Slender-tailed NightjarCaprimulgus clarus Reichenow, 1892CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Long-tailed NightjarCaprimulgus climacurus Vieillot, 1824CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Bonaparte's NightjarCaprimulgus concretus Bonaparte, 1850CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Grey NightjarCaprimulgus jotaka Temminck & Schlegel, 1845CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Large-tailed NightjarCaprimulgus macrurus Horsfield, 1821CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Sykes's NightjarCaprimulgus mahrattensis Sykes, 1832CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Swamp NightjarCaprimulgus natalensis A. Smith, 1845CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Palau NightjarCaprimulgus phalaena Hartlaub & Finsch, 1872CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Montane NightjarCaprimulgus poliocephalus Rüppell, 1840CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Nechisar NightjarCaprimulgus solala Ash Safford, Telfer Duckworth & Zewdie, 1995CaprimulgidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 56 records assigned to Caprimulgidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Southern Asia

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177964 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:QSNP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.