Birds like to sing songs. We mostly can hear birds’ song during the day. However, some birds stay awake and sing at night. You might know the most famous bird which likes to sing at night. Yes, it is an owl. The birds which stay awake or active at night are called nocturnal birds and owl is one of their members.
Nocturnal birds tend to be equipped by their camouflaging skills. They camouflage with their plumage, large eyes, heightened senses and they would appear tame during the day.
Yes, nocturnal birds may also be active during the day. They appear tame as their defense mechanism as they will freeze automatically and be motionless once they are disturbed.
You might only know owl as the nocturnal bird, but let’s see the 8 famous nocturnal birds in the world. You can also read nocturnal animals other than these birds.
- Barn Owl
Barn owl is just like the most common owls which are active during night. It is nocturnal across most of its range, though it is sometimes found active hunting during the day in the UK. Barn owl is also one of the popular breeds of owl.
Barn owls are equipped with an acute sense of hearing. They can be easily noticed by their heart-shaped face. They are able to collect sound just like what humans do with ears, and they use that sense of hearing to target their prey.
To seize their targets which are mostly small mammals, they use their long talons. They don’t need sight to find their prey and they can even find small animals buried underneath the snow.
- Nightjar
Nightjar is a crepuscular bird which only active at night. During the day, it will rest on the ground. Nightjar has cryptic plumage that helps them difficult to spot as it is able to camouflage well.
Nightjars will spend time at dusk and dawn finding for food by flying over open countryside. They mostly feed on insects and moths.
They are able to fly silently and they even have an ability to steal milk from goats. That’s why they have nickname “the goatsucker”.
- Little Penguin
Little penguin, just like its name, is the smallest penguin species. It is just around 33 cm tall. Little penguin is also known as fairy penguins. They can be found around the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand.
They are also famous on Phillip Island for their nightly parade. If you wish to know more about penguins species, you can read species of penguins in Antarctica.
Little penguins are actually diurnal, but they show some of the nocturnal behavior on land, such as protecting their nests and feeding their chicks. They sometimes stay on water for a number of days or stay at the sea to search for food.
- Kakapo
This nocturnal bird is originated from and endemic to New Zealand. Kakapos are flightless and ground-dwelling. You will find kakapos roost under the trees searching for food during the day.
They feed mostly on plants, seeds and sapwood. Kakapos are known to be one of the loudest animals on Earth.
- Tawny Frogmouth
Native to Australia, tawny frogmouths are sometimes mistaken as owls because of their similar nocturnal habits and appearance. Tawny frogmouths are not really active during the day for searching for food.
However, you might find them sitting down with open mouth ready to shut if there is an insect entering. That’s why they are classified as insect eating birds. If not, they will also eat nocturnal insects, such as slugs, snails and worms.
- Nightingale
Nightingales are famous for being able to sing in Berkeley Square. They are the birds that like to sing at night.
The unpaired male nightingales will sing regularly to attract the mate during the night. They sing more loudly in cities and towns in order to be heard over background noise.
Other birds are sometimes triggered to join in the particularly robins by the singing of the nightingales.
- Corncrake
This bird is related to moorhens, coots and water rails, but it lives on dry land. Corncrakes like to spend much of the day hiding in the vegetation on farmland. However, they also have nocturnal call that is really loud. This call sometimes disturb sleeping people in the near rural areas.
- Stone-curlew
This nocturnal bird is known as the thick-knees. Stone-curlews are mostly active at night by their large yellow, reptile-like eyes to find food in the dark. They got their name because of their loud, wailing curlew-like call.
Do you know about the most expensive birds in the world? They are really expensive, yet interesting to be kept as pets.