camouflage: FAIL!

Stop the jeep! I yelled. Brakes were slammed and various people started scanning desparately for the bear or leopard I'd obviously just spotted up in the distant rocks. I pointed out the tiny nightjar on the rock next to the jeep. It remained stock still, convinced its camouflage would see it safe and we took our photos and marvelled at its perfect plumage.

I think this is Jerdon's Nightjar, Caprimulgus atripennis, but I don't know much about nightjar. What I do know is that it was absolutely perfectly camouflaged and we got close enough to really check out that camouflage as well as the huge mouth, the weird whiskers and those big eyes.The next day my eagle eye spotted another perfectly camouflaged night jar blending in perfectly with it's surroundings.

Hey. I never said they were smart. Joking aside I've never seen a nightjar in the UK - they're one of those rarish birds you can see if you make the effort to go to the right locations and I never have. I've seen them in the Caribbean though, and in North and South America and now Asia and I'm a little jealous I don't get to see them more often. There's a wildness about these sorts of birds I rather like.