European nightjars use the same wings for slow, maneuverable insect hunting and faster travel. A 2026 wind-tunnel study found that their broad, slotted wingtips appear to help with lift in slow flight, while at cruising speeds the birds generate lift less efficiently. The study reveals an aerodynamic compromise—not a measurement of how much energy a nightjar uses on migration.
What the 2026 study found
In a paper published in PLOS Biology on 30 September 2026, L. Christoffer Johansson, Gabriel Norevik, Sonja Friman and Anders Hedenström used wind-tunnel measurements and wake visualization to examine European nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus) flying at different speeds. They observed a double tip vortex at cruising speeds, alongside reduced span efficiency. The authors interpret this pattern as indicating relatively high costs of generating lift at those speeds. The paper’s abstract and bibliographic record identify the study and its methods.
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The result helps explain how one wing shape can suit contrasting tasks. Nightjars catch insects in flight, sometimes slowing and maneuvering sharply; they also cruise on long-distance migrations between Europe and southern Africa. The researchers propose that broad, slotted wingtips help generate lift during slow flight but are less efficient at higher speeds. That is the authors’ interpretation of the aerodynamic findings, not a direct demonstration of how the wings evolved.
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Slow flight demands enough lift to keep the bird aloft while it changes direction or adjusts its position to pursue prey. Cruising flight presents a different aerodynamic problem: the bird must generate lift while moving faster. A wing shape that performs well for one task need not be optimal for the other.
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Johansson, an associate professor at Lund University, described the result as a compromise rather than perfect optimization for long-distance travel. In the university’s 9 October 2026 summary, he said the wings let nightjars fly slowly and maneuver while hunting, but that lift generation is less efficient at higher speeds. Lund University’s account of the study provides that explanation and his comments.
The upstroke may contribute thrust, too
The study also reported thrust from the outer wing during the upstroke in cruising flight. That observation is distinct from the double tip vortex and reduced span efficiency. The authors suggest that the upstroke thrust could arise because the wings cannot fold very much during the upstroke; this is a proposed mechanism, not a proven explanation.
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The finding challenges the assumption that an upstroke is merely passive or serves only to generate lift. Johansson told Lund University that the upstroke may actively contribute to thrust when the wings cannot be folded much. The study concerns nightjar aerodynamics; it does not demonstrate a working flapping aircraft or other engineering application.
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The wind-tunnel experiment examined aerodynamic forces at different flight speeds. It did not measure actual migration distance, migration success or whole-migration energy expenditure. Separate field studies add context about how nightjars travel, but their findings should not be treated as measurements from the 2026 experiment.
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Tracking across ecological barriers
A 2022 Scientific Reports study tracked 24 European nightjars from breeding populations in Mongolia, Belgium and the UK using GPS and multisensor loggers. In its reported comparisons, 19 birds contributed 408 daily GPS observations, and five contributed 338 days of multisensor data. These are study sample details, not estimates of the species’ population or typical behavior.
For GPS-tracked birds migrating from Western Europe, the authors described approximate daily distances of 320 km across ecological barriers and 200 km in more suitable areas. They also reported a mean flight altitude of approximately 1.7 km while birds crossed the Sahara or Arabian Desert. These are observations from that study, not universal nightjar rates or findings of the wind-tunnel research. The tracking study found faster movement and greater migration activity across barriers, with slower movement in semi-open, hospitable biomes where dusk foraging was more likely. Its authors suggest birds may combine feeding with short migratory flights in suitable habitat, but say the effects on fuel stores and the value of those biomes for refuelling remain unresolved. The 2022 tracking study reports these methods and results.
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Sea crossings
A separate 2023 PNAS Nexus study examined 85 sea-crossing flights by 18 birds. It reported that nightjars descended to about a wingspan’s height above the sea during daylight flight and shifted toward flap-glide flight. The authors proposed that surface-air boundary-layer effects could make this a more energy-efficient way to travel over water. That proposed sea-crossing mechanism is separate from the 2026 study’s finding about wingtip vortices during cruising flight. The 2023 study describes the sea-crossing observations.
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Why this matters beyond nightjars
Nightjar wings illustrate a general design challenge: a flying animal may need both slow-flight maneuverability and effective long-distance cruising, even though the aerodynamic demands differ. The findings may inform future ideas for flapping aircraft, but that is a possible application—not technology tested or established by this study.
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