What type of Nighthawk/Nightjar? (1 Viewer)

These nighthawks or nightjars have been seen in central western Brazil at 6 or 7 pm, "lying" on the grass. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks very much

Hi, Jocateme! I see this is your first post, so a warm welcome to you from all of us on staff here at BirdForum!

Afraid I can't help answer your question, but I know someone will be along shortly who can. :t:

Welcome to BF!

It's impossible to make a certain ID from these photos, but what I can see combined with the comments on behavior would certainly make Nacunda Nighthawk (Podager nacunda) the most likely candidate. A fast way of recognizing it as a Nighthawk rather than a Nightjar is that all Nightjars in Brazil have tail that extend past the wing-tip when perched (although it comes pretty close in the Blackish Nightjar, but the bird on the photo certainly isn't one of those). This is unlike Nighthawks where all except the strikingly rufous and extremely local Bahian Nighthawk have wings that extend to or behind the tail-tip when perched. Also, Nighthawks are more strictly nocturnal than Nightjars, i.e. if it is active before it is completely dark, it's almost certainly a Nighthawk. Anyway, once you've established if it's a Nighthawk or a Nightjar it becomes a bit more difficult - however, if it turns out to be a Nacunda as I suspected it really is fairly easy. They've got extensive white below (entire lower chest, belly, vent, a large part of the underside of the wings and often, but no always, on the lower throat) and very broad distinctive white patches in the wing that contrasts strongly with the black tips. It's also the only Nighthawk with rather rounded wings (all other Nighthawks have pointed wings). If it isn't a Nacunda, but still a Nighthawk it becomes more difficult as the remaining species that ever are seen perching on the ground (Common, Lesser, Least & Sand-coloured) can be fairly hard to separate (except Sand-coloured), although it can be done by noticing overall colour, exact placement of the wing-tip versus the tail-tip when perched, is the outer primary longer than next in flight, exact shape, placement & colour of wing-band, whitish of buff hue of streaking on underparts, presence/absence of streaking at base of outer primaries in flight, presence/absence of a white/buff trailing edge to the wing. If on the other hand it has a tail that extend past the wings (i.e. a Nightjar) I'd suggest you note the following things and post them in this thread:

* How much does the tail extend past the wing-tip (much or only a bit)?
* Overall colour.
* Any distinctive pattern on the scapulars?
* Any distinctive spots on wing-coverts?
* Any white/buff patch on the throat and if yes, where (a crescent on lower throat, entire throat, etc.)?
* Presence/absence of nuchal collar.
* If in flight any white/buff markings in wings/tail?
* Tail-shape (rounded, square, forked or with "triple-tip").

With above in hand most Brazilian Nightjars can be ID'ed. Also, an exact locality is always nice. Brazil is, as you surely know, a massive country and it is a bit difficult to know if "central Western Brazil" is e.g. in the state of Amazonas or in Mato Grosso.

First of all, thank you very much for your detailed answer. I researched about the Nacunda Nighthawk and I think it really is a strong possibility, since it is very close to the birds I saw and is found in practically all Brazil, including the area I saw them. Here are other informations:
* I don't remember well, but by the photo, looks like it doesn't past much.
* The first one was almost totally rufous/brown and the second one had gray feathers
* I couldn't see them in detail, but I don't remember of any distinctive mark on the scapulars or on wing-coverts
* The first one had a buff patch on the lower throat and the second didn't have.
* Didn't see any nuchal collar
* The gray one had a white bar across the primaries
* Couldn't see the tail-shape
* The birds have been seen near a little town called Eldorado, in Mato Grosso do Sul (Southern Mato Grosso), near the border with Paraguay.

Hope these informations help in the identification

Thanks again,
João Menezes

I will consider also the possibility of a Semi-collared Nighthawk (Lurocalis semitorquatus)for the first, rufous one.

Carlos U said:

I will consider also the possibility of a Semi-collared Nighthawk (Lurocalis semitorquatus)for the first, rufous one.

Click to expand...

The Short-tailed Nighthawk (or Semi-collared as it previously was called) is even darker and it always roosts in trees. Also, it doesn't occur in Mato Grosso do Sul as it mainly is forest-based.

Do you think the rufous one is a Nacunda Nighthawk, too?

jocateme said:

* I couldn't see them in detail, but I don't remember of any distinctive mark on the scapulars or on wing-coverts
* Didn't see any nuchal collar

Click to expand...

Above excludes all species of Nightjars I'd expect in MS. So, we're pretty much down to four Nighthawks, these being the Common, Lesser, Nacunda & marginally the Least (a bit too far south for the Least, but it has been known to turn up south of its normal distribution). I'd still put my money on Nacunda, but can't claim with any confidence that this is a certain ID. The Nacunda is pretty distinctive as noted in the earlier post, but the remaining three can be difficult. In short:

Common: Wings extend slightly past tail when perched (but this isn't a completely certain feature). Wing-bar white in both sexes (although smaller in the female) and located ca. halfway between wing-bend on leading edge of wing and wingtip (useful mainly in flight, but also when perched where it is closer to the base of the primaries than in Lesser). No barring at base of inner primaries (visible in flight). Barring on underparts normally rather whitish (but this isn't an absolutely certain feature).

Lesser: Resemble Common, but wings usually only extend ca. to the tail-tip when perched (but, as noted under the Common, this isn't a completely certain feature). Wing-bar is closer to the wing-tip (and buff in the female) and when perched tend to appear rather square in shape (more diagonal in shape in Common, although the wing-bar often can't be seen in perched female of that species). Wing-tips appear slightly more rounded (but still essentially pointed), due to the outer primary not being longer than the next. Barring extend (sometimes only just) onto the base of the primaries (visible in flight). Barring below tend to be rather buff. Overall it also tend to be more buff (less grey) than the Common, but this certainly shouldn't be used as a feature by itself.

Least: Smaller and, in this part of Brazil, distinctly darker than the above two. Otherwise, it most resemble Common, although the white wing-bar is closer to the tip (even closer than in Lesser) and it has a distinctive white or buff trailing edge to the wing (most obvious from above, but also visible from below). Beware, however, that juv. Common & Lesser also can show a buff trailing edge to the wing, it's just less distinctive and not as broad. Also, the white subterminal band on the underside of the tail is barely visible, even in the male.

jocateme said:

Do you think the rufous one is a Nacunda Nighthawk, too?

Click to expand...

Here's a the few photos a google search turns up.

http://images.google.dk/images?hl=da&q=nacunda nighthawk&sa=N&tab=wi

As may be visible on some of those, the Nacunda can be fairly dark above and on the chest (but still no-where near as dark as the Short-tailed or for that matter the Band-tailed). All it really requires is a bit of earlier morning or late evening light to make it appear rather rufous.

Rasmus Boegh said:

I'd still put my money on Nacunda

Click to expand...

So, I'll trust you, because certainly you know a lot more of birds than me.
About the other three, I think the Least Nighthawk is much smaller than the rufous bird I saw.
The Common Nighthawk is the most similar among these three in my opinion. It migrates to South America in the summer, when I saw the bird.

Thanks for the ID

Another feature to help distinguish between the Least, Common, and Nacunda Nighthawks are their flight characteristics. The Least flies more "erratically" than the Common, and the Nacunda (from memory here) is more graceful than the Common. Hilty discusses this in his Birds of Venezuela but I don't have it here with me to give the verbatim distinctions. Maybe someone can?

Dave B Smith said:

Another feature to help distinguish between the Least, Common, and Nacunda Nighthawks are their flight characteristics. The Least flies more "erratically" than the Common, and the Nacunda (from memory here) is more graceful than the Common. Hilty discusses this in his Birds of Venezuela but I don't have it here with me to give the verbatim distinctions. Maybe someone can?

Click to expand...

Don't have my Venezuela guide at hand (a friend who's currently in Venezuela has it), but it is true that there are some variations in the ways they fly. However, I'm not sure I'd recommend people using it for the Nacunda as it has so many good features that are obvious compared to the other Nighthawks and less likely to be subject to variations than the way an individual fly. However, one might find it useful when separating the Least (although in most cases that one would be obvious because of the strikingly pale trailing edge to the wing) from the Common/Lesser. Common and Lesser both tend to fly with a series of rather rapid strokes, then a series of slower strokes (often even turning into a glide), then a series of rapid, etc., etc., etc. In the flight action I've never really noticed any significant & reliable difference between Common & Lesser (but while I've seen loads of Lesser, I've not seen too many Common). One thing that's worth noting is that the Lesser tend to hunt fairly low, while the Common tend to hunt fairly high. The flight of the Least quite resemble that of the Common/Lesser, although the wing-beast generally are faster and it often tend to glide less than these. In any case I certainly wouldn't rely on that solely for making an ID.

I couldn't see them in flight, just when I got close to them and they moved to a place a little bit farther.