White-winged Nightjar
Eleothreptus candicans
Small, distinctive nightjar, pale gray overall with dark brown spots. Note the white eyebrow and moustachial stripe. In flight, males exhibit white underwings and undertail and black flight feathers. Found at a precious few open savanna grassland sites with scattered trees, especially those with numerous termite mounds known as earthmound fields.
Identification
The white-winged nightjar is 19 to 23 cm (7.5 to 9.1 in) long. Adult males weigh 46 to 55 g (1.6 to 1.9 oz) and females 46 to 55 g (1.6 to 1.9 oz). The adult male's upperparts are pale grayish brown with bold blackish spots on the crown and brown streaks, bars, and speckles on most of the rest. Much of the face is brown, with a white supercilium and "moustache". The breast is grayish brown with a chestnut tinge and brown bars and speckles; the rest of the underparts are white. In flight the male shows whitish wings and a mostly white tail. Adult females have buffy underparts and no white in the plumage. Juveniles are browner rather than grayish.
Taxonomy
The white-winged nightjar, with two other nightjars, was at one time placed in genus Thermochalcis that was later merged into Caprimulgus. Since the early 2010s it has been placed in its current genus Eleothreptus, which it shares with the sickle-winged nightjar (E. anomalus). It is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Eleothreptus candicans
- Authority
- (Pelzeln, 1867)
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Caprimulgidae
- Genus
- Eleothreptus
Range and habitat
The white-winged nightjar is known from widely separated sites in northern Bolivia, south-central Brazil, and eastern Paraguay. There are also historical reports from sites in southern Brazil. It inhabits open grassland with scattered trees and bushes such as savanna and cerrado. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 210 m (690 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The white-winged nightjar might be migratory in at least part of its range.<p>The white-winged nightjar mostly forages in continuous low flight, though it has also been recorded sallying from low perches. Its flight is "typically slow and frequently interspersed by glides". It feeds on insects including beetles and moths.<p>The first white-winged nightjar nest was found in 1997. The clutch of two eggs is laid directly on the ground. In Paraguay egg laying was documented from mid September to mid November. Females alone incubate the eggs. Males make a display flight that shows the white of the wings and tail; the display is apparently both territorial and for mate attraction.<p>Male white-winged nightjars makes a soft territorial call "tshere-she-shew" during chases. Display flights also include mechanical wing noises. The species' alarm call is an abrupt "eek".
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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