Caprimulgus europaeus
Caprimulgus europaeus
The European nightjar has a wide Palearctic distribution across Europe and Asia, but avoids the northern boreal regions (Del Hoyo et al., 2004; Keller et al., 2020; BirdLife International, 2024). In Spain, it occurs throughout the peninsula, Ceuta, and the Balearic Islands during the breeding season, but is absent from the Canary Islands and Melilla (Ponce in SEO/BirdLife, 2022). In the peninsula, it is common in the northern half above 800 m altitude. Below this altitude and in the south, it is rather scarce.
In Madrid, it is found in mid- and high-altitude areas of the mountains and foothills. It seems to prefer open mountain areas near coniferous or deciduous forests (Díaz et al., 1994).
Within the national park, it has been detected at the base of Puerto de Fuenfría, the base of La Pedriza de Manzanares, near Hoyo de Manzanares, and in the Pinilla del Valle forests. It is a cryptic, nocturnal species that is difficult to detect in censuses, so the observations collected for this atlas in the national park are scarce and scattered across several areas.
It is a species that prefers open areas with scattered trees or forest edges. Its northern distribution coincides with holm oak dehesas, ash groves, or mixed forests. It occurs in open or recently planted pine forests with clearings, as well as in plateaus, steppes, grasslands, and mid-mountain shrublands, even above 1,000 meters in altitude.
Observations in the national park correspond to more or less open Scots pine or oak forests, but they are scarce, and a specific habitat for the species cannot be determined within the park. However, it is clear that it does not occupy dense forests, alpine grasslands, or rocky areas.
At the global scale, it is considered in the Least Concern category (LC; 2016). In Europe, it would also be classified in the same category (LC; 2021). In Spain, it is considered in the Least Concern category in the 2021 Red List.
The Catalogue of Threatened Species of the Community of Madrid (1992) does not consider the species in any threat category.
BirdLife International 2024. IUCN Red List for birds. https://datazone.birdlife.org.
Del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A. y Christie, D. A. (Eds.) 2004. Handbook of the birds of the world, Vol. 9. Contingas to Pipits and Wagtails. Lynx Edicions. Barcelona.
Díaz, M., Martí, R., Gómez-Manzaneque, Á. y Sánchez, A. 1994. Atlas de las aves nidificantes en Madrid. Agencia de Medio Ambiente y SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.
Keller, V., Herrando, S., Voříšek, P., Franch, M., Kipson, M., Milanesi, P., Martí, D., Antón, M., Klvaňová, A., Kalyakin, M. V. Bauer, H. Gr y Foppen, R. P. B. 2020. European Breeding Bird Atlas 2: Distribution, Abundance and Change. European Birds Census Council y Lynx Edicions. Barcelona.
SEO/BirdLife (Molina, B., Nebreda, A., Muñoz, A. R., Seoane, J., Real, R., Bustamante, J. y Del Moral, J. C., eds.). 2022. III Atlas de las aves en época de reproducción en España. SEO/BirdLife. Madrid.