My wife and I were admiring an image of the strange-looking bird called the nightjar when she asked me, naturally enough, what the “jar” in its name meant. I, naturally enough, turned to the OED, whose entry was revised in 2003:
1.a. A nocturnal, insectivorous, migratory bird, Caprimulgus europaeus (family Caprimulgidae), of Europe and eastern and central Asia, which has grey-brown cryptic plumage and a distinctive churring call. Also called fern-owl, goatsucker.
1630 Ill boding Owles, Night-iarrs, and Rauens with wide-stretched throats.
T. May, Continuation Lucan vii. sig. K4
[…]
1991 Suddenly another sound begins, completely evoking the spirit of the ancient heath—the hypnotic ‘churr’ of the nocturnal nightjar.
Bird Watching June 75/3
It has this interesting etymology:
The second element in the name reflects the bird’s distinctive call; compare other (chiefly regional) names for the bird, as churn-owl n., churr owl n., eve-churr n. 2, eve-jar n., jar-owl n., nightchurr n. Many similar imitative formations for the name of this bird are found in other languages.
(It would be nice if they’d mentioned some of those imitative formations.) If we turn to the synonym goatsucker (entry revised 2016) we find an equally interesting etymology:
< goat n. + sucker n.,
after classical Latin caprimulgus (Pliny; < capra she-goat (see capriole n.) + mulgēre to milk: see milk v.),
itself after ancient Greek αἰγοθήλας (< αἰγο-, αἴξ goat (see Aegipan n.) + θηλάζειν to suck).
Compare goat-milker n.
Whence also the Russian козодой ‘goat-milker.’
You can hear “the bird’s distinctive call” here.
I wonder which is the original nightjar species that has a jar/churr-like call. Certainly not nighthawks, let alone whippoorwills.
INaturalist shows only the Eurasian nightjar in Britain, so presumably that’s it.
A few people have reported their good fortune to have seen or heard a whippoorwill in Cook Co. I haven’t heard one in decades. The closest I’ve come would be re-reading Faulkner’s Barn Burning.
No relation to the chupacabra, which is said to suck blood, not milk.
Also Ziegenmelker in German.
Fans of strange-looking birds may enjoy the Pennant-winged Nightjar (keep watching till you see him in flight) and the Standard-winged Nightjar (in Ghana), also raising its standards (on Facebook).
Then there are their relatives the potoos, but that’s probably enough links,
The Standard-winged nightjar does not have standard wings.
The Standard-winged nightjar does not have standard wings.
stan·dard ˈstan-dərd
1
: a conspicuous object (such as a banner) formerly carried at the top of a pole and used to mark a rallying point especially in battle or to serve as an emblem
2
a
: a long narrow tapering flag that is personal to an individual or corporation and bears heraldic devices