91Èȱ¬

Throughout Crychan Forest are areas planted with young conifers and the setting sun heralds the appearance of one of Britain's most elusive and intriguing birds – the nightjar. Mike Dilger is promised a fascinating encounter by Tony Cross who is studying the nightjars that migrate here from Africa. Usually you hear nightjars before you see them. The male has white splodges on its wings. The male and female fly around together. Tony and Mike set up mist nets to catch one for Tony's research. After a long wait they get one, record its data and then Tony shows Mike the nightjar's adaptations to night flying. It has huge eyes. The beak looks small, but has an enormous gape and bristles on the side that help funnel insects into its mouth. It also has a special comb on its toe for cleaning those bristles.