According to Wikipedia there are 89 known species of nightjar. Twelve of them, all native to the New World, belong to the genus Antrostomus, which includes two species of whip–poor–will (the eastern and Mexican) and the chuck–Will's–widow (the type species).
The European nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus, is one of 37 species in the genus Caprimulgus. It's also known as the goatsucker because of an ancient folk tale, according to which it suckled from goats, causing them to cease to give milk. This is reflected in the scientific name of the genus, which is literally Latin for 'goat sucker'.
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