A review of ‘wing-clapping’ in European Nightjars

Abstract The ‘wing-clapping’ noise given by displaying male European Nightjars Caprimulgus europaeus is generally considered to be generated by the primary tips being struck together in flight. However, observations and audio recordings suggest this might not be the case. Rather, there is evidence in favour of the sound being generated by a ‘whiplash-like’ mechanism. Here, w

...