Silky-tailed Nightjar
Antrostomus sericocaudatus
Large nightjar with dark plumage and long wings. Has blackish-brown broad spots and streaks above and is brown and white spotted below. Note the buffy collar on the nape. Males have a white tipped tail while the female’s tail tips are buffy. Found at the forest edge and in the forest interior, preferring thickets and areas with a bamboo understory. The song is a mournful and undulating “doh, wheo, eeo,” often repeated for long periods.
Identification
The adult male silky-tailed nightjar has light grey-brown, vermiculated plumage with a strong blackish streak on the top of the head and the nape. It has blackish facial bristles and blackish spots with rufous on the side. Its hind-neck has narrow rufous-tawny half-collar plumage. The mantle, back, rump, and upper tail of a silky-tailed nightjar converts to blackish-brown with irregular patterns of buff and cinnamon. The breast is blackish-brown with short narrow bars of cinnamon and the belly is blackish-brown with blotches and irregular narrow bars of buff.
Taxonomy
The silky-tailed nightjar has two subspecies, the nominate Antrostomus sericocaudatus sericocaudatus and A. s. mengeli. At one time the tawny-collared nightjar (A. salvini) and Yucatan nightjar (A. badius) were also treated as subspecies of it.
- Scientific name
- Antrostomus sericocaudatus
- Authority
- Cassin, 1849
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Caprimulgidae
- Genus
- Antrostomus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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