Pygmy Nightjar
Nyctipolus hirundinaceus
Very small nightjar with an indistinct buffy throat. Ground color is variable between subspecies, with some paler and others darker. In flight, note the white wing stripes in both sexes. Males have two white patches on tail. Found in wooded rocky caatinga (dry scrubby forest), where it roosts on rock outcrops and boulders. The song is a short “wheeo.”
Identification
The pygmy nightjar is 16 to 20 cm (6.3 to 7.9 in) long; one male weighed 32 g (1.1 oz). Males of the nominate subspecies have brown upperparts with grayish white and cinnamon speckles. The tail is brown with paler bars; some feathers have white tips. They have a buffy throat stripe and a white chin and throat with brown bars. The upper breast is a broad buffy cinnamon band with brown spots, the lower breast is brown with pale spots and bars, and the belly and flanks buff with brown bars. Females are similar to the males but paler and do not have the white on the tail. N. n. cearae is paler than the nominate, with a more rufous belly and lighter brown bars on the underparts. The tail has more white. N. n. veilliardi is darker than the nominate.
Taxonomy
The pygmy nightjar was originally placed in genus Caprimulgus, but DNA analyses show that it and its sister species blackish nightjar (Nyctipolus nigrescens) require their own genus. It has three subspecies, the nominate N. n. nigrescens, N. n. cearae, and N. n. veilliardi.
- Scientific name
- Nyctipolus hirundinaceus
- Authority
- (Spix, 1825)
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Caprimulgidae
- Genus
- Nyctipolus
Range and habitat
The nominate subspecies of pygmy nightjar is found in the northeastern Brazilian states of Piauí, Bahia, and Alagoas. N. n. cearae is also found in northeastern Brazil, from northern Ceará south into extreme northern Bahia. N. n. veilliardi is found in southeastern Minas Gerais and west central Espírito Santo states of eastern Brazil.<p>The pygmy nightjar inhabits dry landscapes of scrub and deciduous forest. In the caatinga region it favors gravelly or stony sites. In the Atlantic Forest region it typically is found at stony outcrops.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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