Buff-collared Nightjar

Overview

The buff-collared nightjar, or Ridgway's whip-poor-will (Antrostomus ridgwayi), is a species of nightjar found across Central America and the southwestern United States. Assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, it inhabits a wide variety of arid and moist landscapes.

Identification

• Length of 22 to 23 cm with a weight range of approximately 39.8 to 61.0 g.
• Brownish-gray upperparts and tail marked with gray, cream, and rust feathers.
• Distinctive bright cinnamon buff collar on the hindneck and a narrow buffy white band under the throat.
• Male song consists of a long, accelerating series of cuk notes ending in a sudden drop to cuk-a-cheea.

Habitat

The species ranges from southeastern Arizona through Mexico to Guatemala, Honduras, and possibly Nicaragua. It occupies diverse environments, from thickly vegetated ravines and canyons in the north to thorn scrub and pine-oak woodlands in the south, with nesting sites occurring between sea level and 3,000 m in Mexico.

Diet

This bird forages by flying from a perch or the ground to heights of up to 10 m before returning to the starting point. Its diet consists of nocturnal flying insects, although specific details remain undocumented.

Did you know?

There is at least one observation of an adult performing a broken-wing display to distract two canyon walkers from its nest.