The tail is brown and the three outer pairs of feathers are broadly tipped with white (male) or buff (female).

The wings are brown with spots, bars, and mottling of lighter shades.

The usual clutch of two eggs is laid directly on the ground without a nest.

The Hispaniolan nightjar's song is "a rather harsh, buzzy call of one syllable" that starts with a click and rises in pitch.

[1] However, "destruction of habitat undoubtably would affect this species, and introduced predators also are a potential threat.