The Square-tailed Nightjar is active at night in open woodland, savanna and scrub south of the Sahara. It catches flying beetles, grasshoppers and moths and lays its eggs in a shallow depression on the ground.
Males have a row of white tips on the secondaries, and the outer tail feathers also have white. The bird is 23–24 cm long and weighs 47–68 g.
In southern Africa it lays one or two eggs, usually two, in a shallow natural hollow in sandy soil or fine gravel. The nest is unlined, and incubation is mainly by the female for about 14–17 days.
Just after sunset it hunts from low perches, flying out to catch passing insects. It also feeds on insects attracted to electric lights and campfires.
In southern Africa chicks can walk soon after hatching. They receive parental care and become independent after one or two months.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.