Hispaniolan Nightjar
Antrostomus ekmani
Dark brown and buff nocturnal bird often first noted by its distinctive song, a low, burry “pit, whoo-vore?”, often 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. When seen from above, pale tail tip is indistinct, and helps separate it from the smaller Least Pauraque, which has a narrow and well-defined band at the end of the tail. 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 Hispaniola. Cuban birds are now considered a separate species, Cuban Nightjar.
Identification
The Hispaniolan nightjar is 26 to 30 cm (10 to 12 in) long. The upperparts are dark brown speckled with grayish buff, pale buff, and grayish brown, and the crown has broad black streaks. The tail is brown and the three outer pairs of feathers are broadly 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. The Cuban nightjar subspecies endemic to Isla de la Juventud (A. cubensis insulaepinorum) is smaller, much darker, and has a shorter tail than the Hispaniolan nightjar.
Taxonomy
The Hispaniolan nightjar was originally described as Antrostomus ekmani; 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 monotypic species. The American Ornithological Society (AOS) considers it and the two subspecies of the Cuban nightjar (A. cubanensis) to be subspecies of the Greater Antillean nightjar.The species is named for Swedish naturalist Erik Leonard Ekman, who first described the species in the 19th century.
- Scientific name
- Antrostomus ekmani
- Authority
- Lönnberg, 1929
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Caprimulgidae
- Genus
- Antrostomus
Range and habitat
The Hispaniolan nightjar is found only on the large island of Hispaniola. It is much more common in the western third of the Dominican Republic than the eastern part of that country, and is very rare in Haiti to the west of the Dominican Republic. It mostly inhabits broadleaf forests at middle elevations and shuns low elevation thorn scrub and higher elevation pine forest. In elevation it ranges up to about 1,825 m (5,990 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The Hispaniolan 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 Hispaniolan nightjar breeds between April 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 Hispaniolan nightjar's song is "a rather harsh, buzzy call of one syllable" that starts with a click and rises in pitch. Its apparent disturbance call is "low-pitched, brief calls, paraphrased as quat…quat…quat…".
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Spix's Guan
Penelope jacquacu
Large, stocky brown bird. Largely arboreal, but often seems too large or clumsy for its tree-dwelling habits. Calls loudly when flushing from a tree and makes crashing noises as it lands roughly in another tree. Found around forest edges and young forest as well as in more mature forests. Typically found singly or in pairs, occasionally in larger groups. Larger and darker than chachalacas with more prominent red skin on throat.
Violet-green Swallow
Tachycineta thalassina
A relatively small swallow of western North America. Adult males have a white face and show turquoise-green upperparts and a purple rump in good light. Females and immatures are duller on the upperparts, sometimes just dusky-gray. In flight, note the prominent white "saddlebags" extending up from the underparts to the sides of the rump. Fairly common in a variety of open habitats, often foraging over meadows or ponds. Can be seen in large flocks, sometimes mixed with other species of swallow. Breeds as far north as Alaska; winters primarily in Mexico and northern Central America.
Rufous-bellied Woodpecker
Dendrocopos hyperythrus
A beautiful woodpecker with three disjunct populations: an eastern one which breeds in northeastern China and Russia and winters in southeastern China, a western one in the Himalayas, and a southern one in southern mainland Southeast Asia. In all populations, note bright orange neck and belly, as well as black-and-white spotted wings. Bright red crown is found only on the male; the female has a patchy black and white one. Can be found in a wide range of foothill and lowland forest; favors mixed evergreen forests in the Himalayas, and open dry forest in Southeast Asia. Gives a range of rapid chattering calls and has a short, rapid drum which trails off towards the end.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.