A long-tailed nightjar with different male and female plumage. It uses African habitats from arid semi-desert to savanna and lowland forest clearings, catching insects in flight.
Males have a long tail, white throat patch, and white wing bands. Females have a shorter tail, and their pale wing markings are buffish rather than white.
It uses habitats from arid semi-desert through savanna to lowland forest clearings, and catches beetles, termites, and moths in flight.
In Comoé National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, it is present year-round and starts breeding shortly after the wet season begins.
In the park it becomes active around dusk and forages more intensely at twilight than during the night. Night-time foraging increases when light is available.
Immatures resemble adult females but are paler.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.