Blackish Nightjar

Overview

The blackish nightjar is a species of bird in the family Caprimulgidae that is currently assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN. It is monotypic and found across parts of South America, where it is common to abundant in suitable habitat.

Identification

• Measures 19.5 to 21.5 cm in length and weighs 32 to 39 g.
• Upperparts are blackish brown with tawny, grayish white, and cinnamon spots; underparts are dark brown with buffy, barred bellies and flanks.
• Throat features a small white patch on either side, and flight reveals a small white wing band.
• Song consists of a short, soft, purring 'pu'r'r'r'r't or 'qu'r'r'r'rt', while alarms are a cluck or 'ptink'.

Habitat

Found east of the Andes in Peru, Ecuador, and southern Colombia, extending across southern Venezuela and the Guianas into northeastern and north-central Brazil. It inhabits lowland evergreen forest, specifically on or near open rock outcroppings or on sand and gravel bars along small rivers. Elevation ranges from sea level to as high as 1,200 m in Ecuador.

Diet

Crepuscular and nocturnal, this bird forages on the wing over rock outcrops and above the forest canopy from dusk to dawn, though it has also been recorded picking prey from large rocks on foot. Its diet includes moths and beetles, though it is not fully detailed.

Did you know?

Males display to females by erecting their tails to show white markings, and both sexes sing during this mating display. The female usually lays a single egg in a depression in bare rock, occasionally on bare sand or soil.