goatsucker

American  

[goht-suhk-er] / ˈgoʊtˌsʌk ər /

noun

1. nightjar.

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goatsucker British  

/ ˈɡəʊtˌsʌkə /

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): nightjar.  any nocturnal bird of the family Caprimulgidae, esp Caprimulgus europaeus ( European nightjar ): order Caprimulgiformes.

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Etymology

Origin of goatsucker

1605–15; so called because formerly believed to suck the milk of goats; translation of Latin caprimulgus, itself translation of Greek aigothḗlas

Example Sentences

The birds have a number of nicknames, with the most unusual being 'the goatsucker'.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

It resembles another African bird in its habit of picking off ticks from the backs of oxen, the same duty being performed by the South American goatsucker.

From The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America by Kingston, William Henry Giles

Ignorance alone has given the goatsucker its name.

From The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America by Kingston, William Henry Giles

Dor-hawk, dor′-hawk, n. the common goatsucker, night-jar, or fern-owl.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

The prettily-mottled plumage of the goatsucker, like that of the owl, wants the lustre which is observed in the feathers of the birds of day. 

From Wanderings in South America by Waterton, Charles