Yucatan Poorwill

Overview

The Yucatan poorwill (Nyctiphrynus yucatanicus) is a small nightjar species found across the Yucatan Peninsula in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. It is the smallest nightjar in its region and is currently classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, although its population is believed to be declining.

Identification

• Length of 19.5 to 22 cm, with males weighing around 21.3 g and females 27.7 g.
• Two plumage morphs exist: a brown form with dark grayish-brown, dusky, and black vermiculation, and a rufous form replacing the base color with reddish brown, which is more common in females.
• Distinctive features include a faint buffy nape collar, a white throat patch, and a rounded wing with broad white tips on the four outer feather pairs.
• Song is a loud, slightly resonant whirr or whirrrr lasting about 0.3 seconds, often accompanied by sharp alarm calls in flight.

Habitat

This species inhabits the Yucatan Peninsula, ranging from sea level to approximately 250 m in elevation. It occupies interiors and edges of tropical, humid, and semi-humid forests, scrublands, and deciduous woodlands, though it is uncommon in secondary shrubby forests within tropical rainforests.

Diet

The Yucatan poorwill is crepuscular and nocturnal, feeding on insects by sallying from a tree perch or the ground. Specific details regarding its prey composition are not currently known.

Did you know?

To protect its clutch of two eggs, which are laid directly on the ground without a nest, the incubating adult may perform an injury-feigning distraction display to lure intruders away from the nest site.