European nightjars in southern England found they wintered in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Other species make shorter migrations. Conservation and status Some species of nightjars are threatened with extinction. Road-kills of this species by cars are thought to be a major cause of mortality for many members of the family because of their habit of resting and roosting on roads. They also usually nest on the ground, laying one or two patterned eggs directly onto bare ground. Nightjars possibly move their eggs and chicks from the nesting site in the event of danger by carrying them in their mouths. This suggestion has been repeated many times in ornithology books, but surveys of nightjar research have found very little evidence to support this idea. Developing conservation strategies for some species presents a particular challenge in that scientists do not have enough data to determine whether or not a species is endangered due to the difficulty in locating, identifying, and/or categorizing their limited number (e.g. 10,000) known to exist, a good example being the Vaurie's nightjar in China's south-western Xinjiang Province (as seen only once in-hand). Surveys in the 1970s and 1990s failed to find the species., implying that the species has become extinct, endangered, or found only in a few small areas. In history and popular culture Nighthawk as a name has been applied to numerous places, characters, and objects throughout history. Nebraska's state nickname was once the "Bugeater State" and its people were sometimes called "bugeaters" (presumably named after the common nighthawk). The Nebraska Cornhuskers college athletic teams were also briefly known the Bugeaters, before adopting their current name, also adopted by the state as a whole. A semi-professional soccer team in Nebraska now uses the Bugeaters moniker. Nightjars feature prominently in the lyrics of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin song "Come Down in Time": "While a cluster of nightjars sang some songs out of tune". Sting, in an interview about this song and about Elton John, said, "It's a very beautiful song. … I love Bernie's lyrics, and uh, … It is one of those songs you wish you had written. … " Gallery References External links Nightjar videos on the Internet Bird Collection Nightjar sounds on xeno-canto.org Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors