Tawny-collared Nightjar
Antrostomus salvini
Fairly large dark nightjar of woodland, edge, and adjacent clearings in northeast Mexico. Hunts mainly from perches at forest edge, sometimes even on fence posts in rather open areas. Cryptic plumage similar to other nightjars; both sexes have rusty collar on hindneck. Male has white tail corners. Female has narrower, pale buffy tail corners. Best detected and identified by voice: a slightly burry, 2-syllable "chi-wihw," repeated. Note similar Eastern Whip-poor-will, a winter migrant, in same areas.
Identification
The tawny-collared nightjar is 23 to 25.5 cm (9.1 to 10 in) long. One female weighed 56 g (2.0 oz). The male's upperparts are blackish brown; the crown has blackish spots and the back and rump have fine light brown speckles and broad blackish streaks. It has a broad tawny or buff collar on the nape and the sides of the neck that give the species its name. The tail is also dark brown and the three outermost pairs of feathers have wide white tips. The wings are brown to blackish brown with tawny spots and bars. The face is dark reddish with brown barring. The chin and throat are blackish brown with a narrow white band below the latter, the breast blackish brown with cinnamon speckles, and the belly and flanks blackish brown with many white spots. The female is similar but the tips of the tail feathers have a narrow buff band instead of the wide white one, the tawny markings on the wing are paler, and the band on the lower throat is buffy rather than white.
Taxonomy
The tawny-collared nightjar was originally described as Caprimulgus salvini; Antrostomus was later split as a separate genus. It and the Yucatan nightjar (A. badius) were for a time considered subspecies of the silky-tailed nightjar (A. sericocaudatus). The tawny-collared nightjar is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Antrostomus salvini
- Authority
- (Hartert, EJO, 1892)
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Caprimulgidae
- Genus
- Antrostomus
Range and habitat
The tawn-collared nightjar is found in northeastern Mexico, from Nuevo León and Tamaulipas south to Veracruz. It is mostly resident but a few apparently move further south in the nonbreeding season. It inhabits arid to semihumid landscapes including brushy woodland, thorn forest, and dense scrublands. It shuns humid and heavily forested areas. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 500 m (1,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The tawny-collared nightjar is nocturnal. It hunts for flying insects by sallying from a perch and possibly also from the ground.<p>The tawny-collared nightjar's breeding season spans from April to August. The clutch size is two eggs, probably laid directly on the ground with no nest as is common among nightjars.<p>The tawny-collared nightjar's song is "an abrupt, clipped chi-wihw' or tchi-wheeu, repeated rapidly". It is sung from a hidden perch in a bush or tree, mostly at dawn and dusk, and mostly from March through July.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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