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

There are nine species of the goatsucker in Demerara, a bird with prettily mottled plumage like that of the owl.

From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 19 — Travel and Adventure by Hammerton, John Alexander, Sir

No sound or song from any of the winged inhabitants of the forest, not even p. 157the clearly-pronounced “Whip-poor-Will,” from the goatsucker, causes such astonishment as the toll of the campanero.

From Wanderings in South America by Waterton, Charles

If the largest goatsucker chance to cry near the white man’s door, sorrow and grief will soon be inside; and they expect to see the master waste away with a slow consuming sickness. 

From Wanderings in South America by Waterton, Charles

Tonight for the first time this season I heard the small whippoorwill or goatsucker of the Missouri cry.

From The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by Lewis, Meriwether