Editing Nightjar (section)

==Distribution and habitat==
[[File:Madagascar Nightjar - Tulear - Madagascar S4E8596 (15289655575).jpg|thumb|The [[Madagascar nightjar]] is restricted to the islands of Madagascar and the Seychelles.]]

Nightjars inhabit all continents other than Antarctica, as well as some island groups such as Madagascar, the Seychelles, New Caledonia and the islands of Caribbean.<ref name="hbw">{{cite journal |last1=Cleere|first1=N.|editor1-last=del Hoyo |editor1-first=Josep |editor2-last=Elliott |editor2-first=Andrew |editor3-last=Sargatal |editor3-first=Jordi |editor4-last=Christie |editor4-first=David A. |editor5-last=de Juana |editor5-first=Eduardo |year=2017 |title=Nightjars (''Caprimulgidae'') |journal=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive |url=http://www.hbw.com/family/nightjars-caprimulgidae|publisher=Lynx Edicions |location=Barcelona, Spain |doi=10.2173/bow.caprim2.01|s2cid=216484216|access-date=1 July 2017 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> They are not known to live in extremely arid desert regions. Nightjars can occupy all elevations from sea level to {{convert|4200|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and a number of species are [[Montane_ecosystems|montane]] specialists. Nightjars occupy a wide range of habitats, from deserts to rainforests but are most common in open country with some vegetation.<ref name="hbw"/>
The nighthawks are confined to the New World, and the eared nightjars to Asia and Australia.<ref name="hbw"/>

A number of species undertake [[bird migration|migrations]], although the secretive nature of the family may account for the incomplete understanding of their migratory habits. Species that live in the far north, such as the European nightjar or the common nighthawk, migrate southward with the onset of winter. Geolocators placed on European nightjars in southern England found they wintered in the south of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]].<ref name="Cresswell">{{cite journal|last1=Cresswell|first1=Brian|last2=Edwards|first2=Darren|title=Geolocators reveal wintering areas of European Nightjar (''Caprimulgus europaeus'')|journal=Bird Study|date=February 2013|volume=60|issue=1|pages=77–86|doi=10.1080/00063657.2012.748714 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1001746|doi-access=free}}</ref> Other species make shorter migrations.<ref name="hbw"/>