Like the Locustella genus, the Nightjars have a song which reminds much more an insect rather than a bird. When it starts in the middle of the night, one could wonder what kind of motor is doing this mechanical rythm. Their latin name comes from a belief that they are used to suck goat's milk. Indeed, it would be a very strange behaviour for a bird, but greed seems to be often attributed to this bird. Claude Levy-Strauss collected numerous myth from Southern and Northern America where Nightjars have an important role, especially when they can't stop eating. The French name of this bird is 'Engoulevent' which means 'Swallow the wind'.I don't know about the greed of these birds, maybe it has to do with its amazingly large mouth, but I noticed they are very curious. When doing a small documentary about a meeting between Nightjars and some birdwatchers, these birds came over our head, circling above, just to look at us.
This recording was made with naturalist friend Pascal Dhuicq by night at Mount Saint-Rigaud (France). We setup our equipment in an open area surrouded by pine trees and went hiding at the border of the forest. Of course, after hours of waiting, nothing came except a Robin. We came back to the car and drove a little bit when we noticed another possible location for the Nightjars. We stopped the car, but no sound was coming from the high pine trees. But when we turned on the engine, the song began.

Recorded at Mount Saint-Rigaud (France), 24.06.2006 around mindnight.