Maharadschanachtschwalbe

Bestimmung

Like other nightjars, it has a wide gape, long wings, soft downy plumage and nocturnal habits. At 26 cm in overall length, it is almost a head's length larger than the Indian nightjar (C. asiaticus), and differs from that species in its barred tail, rufous rear neck, and wing bars. The vermiculations on the crown are fine giving it a nearly uniform shade. The collar is blackish. The male has a white patch on each wing. Otherwise, their cryptic plumage is mainly variegated buff and brown, as typical for the dark tropical woodland nightjars. This has an unbroken white gorget like the long-tailed nightjar but the tail is shorter. The Sri Lankan aequabilis is slightly smaller and darker.<p>Its typical call is a fast repetitive ch-woo-woo. Another call is said to be a frog-like croak.

Taxonomie

Thomas C. Jerdon first described this species in an annotation to his 1845 treatment of the jungle nightjar (C. indicus) in the Illustrations of Indian ornithology. Subsequently, it was sometimes lumped again with C. macrurus, but the co-occurrence of this form and large-tailed nightjar C. macrurus without interbreeding in the northeast of the Indian peninsula was noted in 1987 suggesting their distinctness. It has since been reaffirmed as a full species based on studies on vocalization. The subspecies in Sri Lanka is C. a. aequabilis. Jerdon's type locality mentioned as Ghauts has been considered to be the Eastern Ghats west of Nellore.

Wissenschaftlicher Name

Caprimulgus atripennis

Autorität

Jerdon, 1845

Ordnung

Caprimulgiformes

Familie

Nachtschwalben (Caprimulgidae)

Gattung

Caprimulgus

Verbreitung und Lebensraum

Zugverhalten

Standvogel

Verhalten

Zugverhalten: Standvogel.

Schutzstatus

Bestandstrend: stabil.

Bestandstrend

stabil