The Freckled Nightjar is a nocturnal bird of rocky slopes and ravines. It catches insects in flight around dusk and dawn and lays eggs in natural rock cavities.
Chicks are covered in dark gray down mottled with white.
It catches insects in flight at dusk and dawn, mainly beetles and moths. It lays eggs in natural rock cavities, and both sexes incubate.
In southern Africa it lays two eggs in a natural rock hollow. Incubation lasts 18–20 days, with the female incubating by day and the male at night. Both parents care for the chicks, which first fly at about 19–20 days old.
It also feeds on moonlit nights, repeatedly flying from the ground to catch insects and returning to the same spot.
Adults are large, grayish nightjars. Both sexes have a small white mark in the outer wing. Males have large white tail corners, while females have plain tails.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.