Description
English: Caprimulgus ruficollis with one baby, taken in Alentejo, South Portugal
Date 17 July 2014, 14:43:00
Author Andre Heuzer
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caprimulgus_ruficollis_with_child.JPG

The red-necked nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis) is the largest of the nightjars occurring in Europe. It breeds in Iberia and north Africa, and winters in tropical west Africa. Caprimulgus is derived from the Latin capra, "nanny goat", and mulgere, "to milk", referring to an old myth that nightjars suck milk from goats. The specific ruficollis is from Latin rufus, "red", and collum, "neck". The common name "nightjar", first recorded in 1630, refers to the nocturnal habits of the bird, the second part of the name deriving from the distinctive churring song.