This nocturnal bird has a rusty band across the throat and chest. It catches flying insects at dusk and during the night.
Its camouflaged plumage includes a rusty throat-and-chest band. White patches near the ends of the long wings and tail are more conspicuous in males.
Red-necked Nightjars forage along unpaved roads in Doñana National Park, Spain. During a 2011–2012 study, rabbit abundance along the roads rose by about 50% and fox abundance fell by about 80%, indicating lower predation risk. Nightjars did not become more common on the roads as risk declined, but their choice of roadside perches changed.
When risk was higher, birds often perched close to vegetation taller than 1.5 metres. When risk was lower, they used more exposed places near shorter vegetation, usually below one metre. The study connected the height of roadside plants and each bird’s distance from cover with the nightjar’s choice of feeding microsite.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
At Doñana, Red-necked Nightjars used unpaved roads for feeding and changed their roadside position with vegetation height. Birds were close to taller plants when predation risk was higher and also used more open spots by shorter plants when risk fell.