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Band-winged Nightjar
Caprimulgus longirostris

DESCRIPTION:
Band-winged Nightjar
Atajacaminos Común
Caprimulgus longirostris
Length: 250 mm. Sexes slightly unlike. Bill black; iris very dark brown; white collar; back mostly brown, grey and buff, cryptically coloured in black; central rectrices grey with streaks and irregular black bands; outer tail feathers brown with blackish bars, the three outermost feathers on both sides show a broad white terminal band. Wing coverts brown with black patterns and buff spots; secondary remiges brown with black bars; primaries blackish with broad white basal band in the five outermost feathers. Breast, abdomen and flanks buff brown with wavy blackish bars; undertail coverts buff brown. Legs black. The female is similar to the male, but the collar is buff, it lacks the spots at the tip of tail feathers, and the bands in the primary remiges are buff. Habitat and behaviour: it is found solitary or in pairs; where food is abundant several couples may be found in confined areas; it inhabits open grasslands, shrubby fields, stony steppes with thickets, edges of ponds and open woodland; in the daytime it remains concealed on the ground. Its mimetic coloration is an efficient screen, enabling it to go undetected even at close range, camouflaged among the leaf litter, sticks and lichens that cover the stones and rocks. The Band-winged Nightjar only takes flight upon impending danger and this for a short distance, in an erratic zigzag fashion until it believes it is out of danger. Activities start at dusk and continue during the night; as it feeds on insects caught in flight. It is often seen perched by the roads and, dazzled by vehicle lights, it often crashes against them whenever it flies off suddenly. As its large eyes reflect the light, one can follow its sketchy zigzagging flight as artificial light focuses on it. Eggs are laid directly on the ground; clutch size is up to two whitish eggs with brown and grey specks. Range: the Band-winged Nightjar occurs in almost all the northern part of Argentina and its population is divided in several races. In Patagonia, the race Caprimulgus longirostris patagonicus is found from Neuquén and Río Negro to south of Santa Cruz, migrating northwards in autumn; whereas the race Caprimulgus longirostris bifasciatus occurs in western Neuquén, west of Río Negro and northwestern Chubut,.
Illustrated Handbook of the Birds of Patagonia
Kindless: Kovacs Family
 
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Photographs: Mariano Diez Peña


Birding Patagonia • Birdwatcing in Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina and Chile.
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Photographs on the website: Mariano Diez Peña