The nightjar is sometimes called a goatsucker, based on the folklore belief that it drinks goat's milk. This is of course not true—nightjars, like many other nightbirds, are insectivores, but the belief may stem from the fact that they may get close to domestic animals to eat the insects around them.

Oh my god look at them. I promise these birds are real and not computer-generated, or animatronics or muppets or anything. These are birds called potoos (Nyctibiidae) that are found across the American tropics. Potoos aren't much for flying, or walking, or even nests; they're at home perching on tree stumps, from which they hunt.

The common potoo has a very interesting call, one described as haunting and even melancholic. Have a listen for yourself !

The oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) is the only living species of the family Steatornithidae. Oilbirds are like if a bird was a bat: they live in colonies in caves and are one of the few birds to navigate by echolocation, though they do not use it to hunt, as they are fructivores. They also have whiskers, like mice, and eyesight that are like that of deep sea fish.

Frogmouths (Podargidae) are nocturnal birds native to the Indromalayan and Austronesian realns. Look at these guys. I'm obsessed with them. They are named for their flattened wide beaks and gapes—the interior of their open mouths—that resemble those of frogs. Convergent evolution has made it so they also resemble owls, but while owls have facial discs and are fearsome birds of prey, frogmouths, with their weak flight and weak feet, are content to perch on tree branches where they may hunt for the insects they eat and remain camouflaged from predators.

I love frogmouths; in fact, they were the reason I got so interested in strisores in the first place. We have them at the zoo and they are just as lovely in person.

Of all the Strisores clade, the owlet-nightjar (Aegothelidae)'s distinctiveness has only recently been discovered. It has the big eyes, cryptic plumage, large gape and insectivore diet like many of its relatives, though interestingly its feet are relatively large and functional compared to the rest, and they also have whiskers and rounded tails. The common ancestor of the swifts and hummingbirds, the owlet-nightjar's closest cousins, would likely have resembled a small owlet-nightjar. These fun little guys are native to New Guinea and can be found across the Austronesian region.

Swifts (Apodidae) are very aerial, unlike many of its cousins. Their family name comes from a Greek word meaning "footless", as their feet are so small and weak, but this is more than made up for with their incredible flight capabilities: swifts, aptly named, are among the fastest birds in level flight on the planet, and in fact hold the record for such feat (though in fastest airspeeds overall, they are outclassed by the diving speeds of birds such as the peregrine falcon). They are found in every continent in the world except Antarctica !

Treeswifts (Hemiprocnidae) are the rather handsome relatives of the true swifts. There are only four species, all found from India and Southeast Asia to New Guinea, and they look like the true swifts but often with headcrests and other facial ornaments, and longer forked tails.

I'm convinced hummingbirds (Trochilidae) are an underrated contender for sickest awesomest bird ever. They're the smallest adult birds, for one, the tiniest being the bee hummingbird at the weight of about a penny. Unlike other birds whose flight involves articulation in the joints in their wings, hummingbirds' wings are completely straight, their flight being more similar to bees. They flap their wings 80 times per second, creating the humming sound after which they're named. Their metabolism is so fast, they could die of starvation in only 3-5 hours, so they feed on nectar in flowers, which offers the energy they need, and they enter torpor at night—a mini sort of hibernation where their metabolic rate drops by 95% !