Cuban Nightjar
Antrostomus cubanensis
Dark brown and buff nocturnal bird often first noted by its distinctive song, a low, burry “weeyo” given in rapid succession. Similar to migratory Chuck-will’s-widow, but plumage is darker and less buffy, and tail is tipped white in male or buff in female, though this may only be evident when seen from below. Short wings that do not reach tail tip help distinguish it from Antillean Nighthawk. Inhabits forest and edge, and often seen along roads at night as its eyes gleam in the headlights of passing cars or the spotlights of birders. Sallies out to catch insects from the ground or a branch. Sleeps by day on the ground or a low perch. Endemic to Cuba.
Identification
The Cuban nightjar's subspecies A. c. cubanensis is 25 to 29.5 cm (9.8 to 12 in) long. Males weigh approximately 76 g (2.7 oz) and females 70 g (2.5 oz). Their upperparts are dark brown speckled with grayish buff, pale buff, and grayish brown. The tail is brown and the three outer pairs of feathers are tipped with white (male) or buff (female). The innermost pair has grayish brown chevrons. The wings are brown with spots, bars, and mottling of lighter shades. The face is tawny with dark brown speckles, the chin and throat dark brown with cinnamon speckles, the breast dark brown with large spots and smaller speckles of buffy white, and the belly and flanks dark brown with gray speckles. A. c. insulaepinorum is smaller, much darker, and has a shorter tail.
Taxonomy
The Cuban nightjar was originally described as Antrostomus cubanensis; the genus was later lumped into genus Caprimulgus and still later restored as a separate genus. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC), BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW), and the Clements taxonomy consider it a species. According to them the Cuban nightjar has two subspecies, the nominate A. c. cubanensis and A. c. insulaepinorum. The American Ornithological Society (AOS) considers those two subspecies and the Hispaniolan nightjar to be subspecies of the Greater Antillean nightjar.
- Scientific name
- Antrostomus cubanensis
- Authority
- Lawrence, 1860
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Caprimulgidae
- Genus
- Antrostomus
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of Cuban nightjar is found on the main island of Cuba and most of the small adjoining islands of the archipelago. A. c. insulaepinorum is found only on Isla de la Juventud ("Isle of Youth", formerly the Isle of Pines). They inhabit landscapes described by different authors as "dense scrub", "open woodland and the edges of swamps", and "rather dense forest".
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The Cuban nightjar is crepuscular and nocturnal. Its prey is insects that it captures in flight, though whether that is during continuous flight or by sallies from a perch or the ground is not known.<p>The Cuban nightjar breeds between March and July. The usual clutch of two eggs is laid directly on the ground without a nest. Both sexes are believed to incubate the eggs.<p>The Cuban nightjar's song is "a rather harsh, buzzy call of one syllable; the pitch rises and falls, with an overall drop in pitch".
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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