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nightjar (n.)

short-billed nocturnal bird, goatsucker, 1620s, from night + jar (v.). So called for the "jarring" sounds made by the male when the female is brooding, which have been described as a "churring trill that seems to change direction as it rises and falls." An Old English word for it was nihthræfn "night raven."

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Definitions of nightjar from WordNet

nightjar (n.)
mainly crepuscular or nocturnal nonpasserine birds with mottled greyish-brown plumage and large eyes; feed on insects;
Synonyms: goatsucker / caprimulgid
From wordnet.princeton.edu