Flora Alexander, age 12, of Vancouver, Wash., for her question:

WHAT IS A NIGHTJAR?

A nightjar is one of a widespread family of birds that largely fly at night. The nighthawk and the whippoorwill also belong to this family.

A more common name for the nightjar is goatsucker.

The name goatsucker comeA'from the old fable that the birds milk goats. This arose because of the birds' wide, soft mouths and because they feed at twilight near grazing, domestic animals. The name nightjar comes from their habit of flying at night and their jarring cries.

Nightjars are eight to 15 inches long. Their dull coloring, gray and brown mottled with white, acts as effective camouflage.

The wings of the nightjars are long and slender and their short bills have bristles at the base.

These night flying birds catch their food of insects while in flight.