Bates's Nightjar
Caprimulgus batesi
Large, dark, long-tailed forest nightjar. Males have small white patches in the outer wings and at the corners of the tail; females have all-dark wings and can show small buff tail corners. Found in lowland rainforest, including forest edge and clearings. The distinctive vocalization is usually given from a tree: a single barking “kow,” followed after a pause by a quick series of several similar notes. Found in the same habitat as Brown Nightjar, but larger and longer-tailed; males further distinguished by the pale patches in the wing and tail.
Identification
Bates's nightjar is a large, dark nightjar. At rest looks large headed and long tailed. The upperparts and wing coverts are dark brown marked with black and buff streaks and spots, with a normally indistinct buff collar on the hindneck which may be more obvious on some individuals. The underparts are blackish brown with buff speckling on the breast, becoming barred on the belly, the throat is whitish. In flight the male shows a small white spot towards the wingtip and white tips to the two outer tail feathers. The female is paler and lack white spots on the wings or outer tail. They measure 29–31 cm in length and weigh 89–112g.<p>The song of Bates's nightjar is a loud "whow whowwhowwhowwhow" in which following the first note there is a pause then a repeated series of notes.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Caprimulgus batesi
- Authority
- Sharpe, 1906
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Caprimulgidae
- Genus
- Caprimulgus
Range and habitat
Bates's nightjar has a fragmented distribution, one population is found in southern Cameroon, another in western Cameroon, Gabon, southern Central African Republic and western Congo, a third slightly separate in the western Congo, with another in eastern Congo and north-western Democratic Republic of the Congo, a fifth population ranges across the Democratic Republic of the Congo and into eastern Uganda in the Bwamba Forest while the last population is in the central Democratic Republic of the Congo. Bates's nightjar occurs mainly in lowland primary rainforest where it prefers clearings and forest edges and can be common near water, especially near rivers or flooded forest. It can also be found in secondary forest and plantations close to the edge of primary rainforest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Like most nightjars, Bates's nightjar is crepuscular and nocturnal. It roosts on the ground, in clearings or on paths, or several metres up perched on a liana. Forages for prey such as mantises, crickets, grasshopper, beetles and moths over and within the forest canopy, over clearings and along the edges of riverine forest. It does not build a nest and the single egg is laid directly onto the bare ground or among the leaf litter, nest site are sometimes on paths or trails. The breeding season is December to January in Gabon and potentially all tear in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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