Savanna Nightjar - BirdForum Opus

Photo by MountainMan
Changi Cove, Singapore

Caprimulgus affinis

Includes Franklin's Nightjar

Identification

Plumage greyish brown with fine blackish mottles on upper parts.
Male: From all nightjars by all white outer tail feathers.Has white patchs on the wings.
Female: Entire tail greyish brown with buff wing patch.

Similar Species

From Large-tailed Nightjar by the slimmer appearance and short tail and lacking the bold markings on the upperparts of the former.

Distribution

The India subcontinent east to south China, Southeast Asia to the Greater and Lesser Sundas, and Sulawesi.

Taxonomy

Formerly included Chirruping Nightjar.

Subspecies

Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:

C. a. monticolus:

North-eastern Pakistan to India, Myanmar, southern Thailand, (possibly northernmost Malaysia), Cambodia, and Vietnam (except northern)

C. a. amoyensis:

South-eastern China and northern Vietnam

C. a. stictomus:

Taiwan

C. a. affinis:

Southern Malay Peninsula including Singapore, as well as Greater and Lesser Sundas

C. a. propinquus:

North-central and southern Sulawesi

C. a. undulatus:

Western Lesser Sundas (Sumbawa, Komodo and Flores)

C. a. kasuidori:

Central Lesser Sundas (Sumba and Sawu)

C. a. timorensis:

Eastern Lesser Sundas (Alor, Timor, Rote and Kisar)

Habitat

Scrub, open country, grassland with open stoney patches. (Favourite nesting sites.)

Behaviour

Usualy solitary but small parties of three or four may hawk for insects together. Very vocal in flight,which is swifter and more erratic than Large-tailed Nightjar. Often seen sitting on tracks at dusk.

Vocalisation

A harsh rasping high-pitch CHWEEZ uttered both in flight and at rest.

References

Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Savanna Nightjar. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Savanna_Nightjar

External Links

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