Indian Nightjar

The Indian nightjar is a small, short-tailed nightjar with white corners to the tail, a golden nape and collar, dark cheeks, white patches on the sides of the throat, a grey crown and a finely barred brown breast. Males show more white in the tail and females are more heavily streaked on the crown. It differs from Sykes's nightjar in its dark undertail and from Jerdon's nightjar in its shorter tail and white throat patches. Plumage varies across its range (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is most active at dawn and dusk and is best found by its call, a run of clicks that speed up and shorten, likened to a stone skipping on a frozen lake, which earned it the colonial name ice-bird. It hunts insects in silent, moth-like flight, often around livestock or lights, and by day lies still on the ground. Its eyes may shine red on roads at night. No nest is made: two marbled eggs are laid on bare ground. SoIB 2023 lists it as resident in India but gives no trend or priority for it (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).