biology

Slender-tailed nightjar

Slender-tailed nightjar is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Slender-tailed nightjar rather than just read about it. In short: The slender-tailed nightjar (Caprimulgus clarus) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in parts of eastern and central Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Key takeaways

Slender-tailed nightjar belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Slender-tailed nightjar to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Slender-tailed nightjar from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The slender-tailed nightjar (Caprimulgus clarus) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in parts of eastern and central Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Description The slender-tailed nightjar is a medium-sized nightjar, measuring approximately 25–28 cm in length. It has cryptically patterned brown, grey, and black plumage, providing effective camouflage against dry ground and leaf litter. The head is relatively large and flattened, with a small bill and a very wide gape adapted for catching insects in flight. The tail is long and tapered, with the central feathers extending beyond the others, giving rise to the species’ common name. Sexes are similar in appearance, though males may show slightly more prominent pale patches on the wings. No subspecies are currently recognized.

Distribution and habitat The species is distributed across eastern and parts of central Africa. It inhabits dry, open environments including savanna, dry woodland, bushland, open scrub, rocky areas, and sparsely vegetated grassland. It is often associated with semi-arid regions and may occur near water sources. The slender-tailed nightjar is generally resident throughout its range, with no evidence of long-distance migration.

Behavior and ecology The slender-tailed nightjar is nocturnal and insectivorous. It forages mainly at dusk and during the night, capturing flying insects such as moths and beetles on the wing. During the day, it roosts on the ground or low branches, relying on its cryptic plumage for concealment. Breeding biology is poorly documented, but it is presumed to be similar to other members of the genus Caprimulgus. Eggs are laid directly on bare ground without a constructed nest, usually in a shallow scrape among leaf litter or stones. Vocalizations include churring calls typical of nightjars, most often heard at dusk and during the night.

Conservation The slender-tailed nightjar is assessed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to its wide distribution and presumed large and stable population. No major threats have been identified at a global scale, although localized habitat degradation may affect some populations. The species occurs in several protected areas across its range.

References

External links BirdLife species factsheet for Slender-tailed Nightjar Explore Species: Slender-tailed Nightjar at eBird (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Slender-tailed nightjar

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Slender-tailed nightjar claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Slender-tailed nightjar before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Slender-tailed nightjar ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Slender-tailed nightjar

In research: Slender-tailed nightjar appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Slender-tailed nightjar in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Slender-tailed nightjar is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Birds described in 1892, Birds of East Africa, Birds of the Horn of Africa, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Slender-tailed nightjar outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Slender-tailed nightjar” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Slender-tailed nightjar in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Slender-tailed nightjar means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Slender-tailed nightjar out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Slender-tailed nightjar in simple terms?

Why does Slender-tailed nightjar matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Slender-tailed nightjar?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Slender-tailed nightjar.