Jerdon's Nightjar
Encyclopedia
Jerdon's Nightjar is a medium-sized nightjar
species
which is found in southern India
and Sri Lanka
. Formerly considered as a subspecies of the Long-tailed Nightjar
it is best recognized by its distinctive call.
first described this species in an annotation to his 1845 treatment of the Indian Jungle Nightjar (C. indicus) in the Illustrations of Indian ornithology. Subsequently it was sometimes lumped
again with C. macrurus, but the co-occurrence of this form and Large-tailed Nightjar
C. macrurus without interbreeding in the northeast of the Indian peninsula was noted in 1987 suggesting their distinctness. It has since been reaffirmed by studies on vocalization and considered a full species. The subspecies in Sri Lanka is C. a. aequabilis. Jerdon's type locality mentioned as Ghauts has been considered to be the Eastern Ghats
west of Nellore.
(C. asiaticus), and differs from that species in its barred tail, rufous rear neck, and wing bars. The male has a white patch on each wing. Otherwise, their cryptic
plumage is mainly variegated buff and brown, as typical for the dark tropical woodland nightjars. This has a unbroken white gorget like the Long-tailed Nightjar but the tail is shorter. Sri Lankan aequabilis is slightly smaller and darker.
Its typical call is a fast repetitive ch-woo-woo. Another call is said to be a frog-like croak.
at a casual glance. During the day, Jerdon's Nightjar lies silent upon the ground, concealed by its plumage; it is then difficult to detect, blending in with the soil.
Nocturnal insects, such as moth
s, are its food. Unlike the Indian Nightjar
(C. asiaticus), this species rarely rests on roads during the night, preferring to alight on bushes. This makes it harder to spot, since it is not so readily seen in vehicle headlights. It however roosts on the ground although calling from the trees.
The breeding season is March to July in India and February to May in Sri Lanka. No nest is made; the two beautifully marbled eggs are placed upon the bare ground. The brooding bird, covering them closely with its camouflage plumage
, is their best protection. The chicks can crawl away from the nest soon after hatching and hide among leaves when alarmed.
A widely found bird, it is not uncommon and not considered a threatened species
by the IUCN.
Nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
which is found in southern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. Formerly considered as a subspecies of the Long-tailed Nightjar
Long-tailed Nightjar
The Long-tailed Nightjar is a species of nightjar in the Caprimulgidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,...
it is best recognized by its distinctive call.
Taxonomy
Thomas C. JerdonThomas C. Jerdon
Thomas Caverhill Jerdon was a British physician, zoologist and botanist. He is best remembered for his pioneering works on the ornithology of India...
first described this species in an annotation to his 1845 treatment of the Indian Jungle Nightjar (C. indicus) in the Illustrations of Indian ornithology. Subsequently it was sometimes lumped
Lumpers and splitters
Lumping and splitting refers to a well-known problem in any discipline which has to place individual examples into rigorously defined categories. The lumper/splitter problem occurs when there is the need to create classifications and assign examples to them, for example schools of literature,...
again with C. macrurus, but the co-occurrence of this form and Large-tailed Nightjar
Large-tailed Nightjar
The Large-tailed Nightjar is a species of nightjar in the Caprimulgidae family.It is found in Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.Its natural habitats...
C. macrurus without interbreeding in the northeast of the Indian peninsula was noted in 1987 suggesting their distinctness. It has since been reaffirmed by studies on vocalization and considered a full species. The subspecies in Sri Lanka is C. a. aequabilis. Jerdon's type locality mentioned as Ghauts has been considered to be the Eastern Ghats
Eastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats or Eastern Ghauts are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats run from West Bengal state in the north, through Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka. They are eroded and cut through by the...
west of Nellore.
Description
Like other nightjars, it has a wide gape, long wings, soft downy plumage and nocturnal habits. At 26 cm in overall length, it is almost a head's length larger than the Indian NightjarIndian Nightjar
The Indian Nightjar is a small nightjar which is a resident breeder in open lands across South Asia and Southeast Asia. Like most nightjars it is crepuscular and is best detected from its characteristic calls at dawn and dusk that have been likened to a stone skipping on a frozen lake - a series...
(C. asiaticus), and differs from that species in its barred tail, rufous rear neck, and wing bars. The male has a white patch on each wing. Otherwise, their cryptic
Crypsis
In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation or detection by other organisms. It may be either a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation, and methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle, transparency, and mimicry...
plumage is mainly variegated buff and brown, as typical for the dark tropical woodland nightjars. This has a unbroken white gorget like the Long-tailed Nightjar but the tail is shorter. Sri Lankan aequabilis is slightly smaller and darker.
Its typical call is a fast repetitive ch-woo-woo. Another call is said to be a frog-like croak.
Ecology
Open woodland, scrub, and cultivation is the habitat of this nocturnal bird. It flies after sundown with an easy, silent fluttering flight, appearing a bit like an outsized mothMoth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
at a casual glance. During the day, Jerdon's Nightjar lies silent upon the ground, concealed by its plumage; it is then difficult to detect, blending in with the soil.
Nocturnal insects, such as moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s, are its food. Unlike the Indian Nightjar
Indian Nightjar
The Indian Nightjar is a small nightjar which is a resident breeder in open lands across South Asia and Southeast Asia. Like most nightjars it is crepuscular and is best detected from its characteristic calls at dawn and dusk that have been likened to a stone skipping on a frozen lake - a series...
(C. asiaticus), this species rarely rests on roads during the night, preferring to alight on bushes. This makes it harder to spot, since it is not so readily seen in vehicle headlights. It however roosts on the ground although calling from the trees.
The breeding season is March to July in India and February to May in Sri Lanka. No nest is made; the two beautifully marbled eggs are placed upon the bare ground. The brooding bird, covering them closely with its camouflage plumage
Crypsis
In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation or detection by other organisms. It may be either a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation, and methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle, transparency, and mimicry...
, is their best protection. The chicks can crawl away from the nest soon after hatching and hide among leaves when alarmed.
A widely found bird, it is not uncommon and not considered a threatened species
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
by the IUCN.