The great eared nightjar (Lyncornis macrotis) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in southwest India and in parts of Southeast Asia. This very large nightjar has long barred wings, a barred tail and long ear-tufts which are often recumbent. It has a white throat band but has no white on its wings or on its tail.

A medium-sized night bird of forest and open areas from the lowlands to the mountains. Heavily patterned in various shades of brown, with finely barred underparts, blotching on the chest, and dark wings with large pinkish and white spots and a broad pale bar bordered with black. Note the white lines on the side of the throat with a black line below, and the broad white band on the end of the undertail. Voice is a distinctive, loud two-noted “pyok prraw,” the second note slightly lower and with a vibrating quality.

We have all wished some of our favorite mythical creatures were real, and I bet a lot of us wished dragons especially would exist.

Well, lucky for us, we may not have flying fire-breathing dragons, but we do have the great eared nightjar!

The great eared nightjar AKA the mini dragon can be found in the darkness of the Southeast Asian tropical forest.

They are nocturnal creatures and prefer to roam the forest in darkness, perfectly blending with their surroundings.

There is something special about their camouflage, perfectly blending with the leaves of the tropical forest.

They make their nests on the forest floor, well camouflages by a litter of dry leaves.

You could easily mistake one of these fluffy little dragons for a character from Harry Potter, or Game of Thrones, but they are in fact birds.

The great eared nightjar is truly a one-of-a-kind bird and looks like no other we have ever seen.

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