Puerto Rican Nightjar
Encyclopedia
The Puerto Rican Nightjar, Caprimulgus noctitherus, is a very rare bird found in the coastal dry scrub forests in localized areas of southwestern Puerto Rico
.
It was described from bones found in cave deposits and a single specimen taken in 1888. The species was considered extinct
, the specimen being the last remnant of a "prehistoric" bird. However, it was found to be still extant in 1961; it had been overlooked due to its secretive habits and because its habitat was not surveyed.
The current population is estimated to be between 1,400 and 2,000 mature birds and expected to be stable as long as the habitat is not altered and introduced predators - mongoose
s, rat
s and cat
s - are controlled. The classification as critically endangered
is mainly due to the special habitat on which it depends being much fragmented by degraded and unsuitable areas; thus the population is very patchily distributed.
The areas of occurrence are nowadays protected and it has been proposed to link areas of occurrence by reforestation with native plant species. However, a projected wind farm
near Guayanilla has been controversially granted exemption from the Endangered Species Act
under an "incidental take" permit
; it has been suggested that up to 5% of the nightjar's population might suffer accidental death by collision with the wind turbine
s.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
It was described from bones found in cave deposits and a single specimen taken in 1888. The species was considered extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
, the specimen being the last remnant of a "prehistoric" bird. However, it was found to be still extant in 1961; it had been overlooked due to its secretive habits and because its habitat was not surveyed.
The current population is estimated to be between 1,400 and 2,000 mature birds and expected to be stable as long as the habitat is not altered and introduced predators - mongoose
Mongoose
Mongoose are a family of 33 living species of small carnivorans from southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. Four additional species from Madagascar in the subfamily Galidiinae, which were previously classified in this family, are also referred to as "mongooses" or "mongoose-like"...
s, rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s and cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s - are controlled. The classification as critically endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
is mainly due to the special habitat on which it depends being much fragmented by degraded and unsuitable areas; thus the population is very patchily distributed.
The areas of occurrence are nowadays protected and it has been proposed to link areas of occurrence by reforestation with native plant species. However, a projected wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
near Guayanilla has been controversially granted exemption from the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
under an "incidental take" permit
Incidental Take Permit
An incidental take permit is a permit issued under Section 10 of the Federal Endangered Species Act to private, non-federal entities undertaking otherwise lawful projects that might result in the take of an endangered or threatened species...
; it has been suggested that up to 5% of the nightjar's population might suffer accidental death by collision with the wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s.
See also
- Fauna of Puerto RicoFauna of Puerto RicoThe fauna of Puerto Rico is similar to other island archipelago faunas, with high endemism, and low, skewed taxonomic diversity. Bats are the only extant native terrestrial mammals in Puerto Rico. All other terrestrial mammals in the area were introduced by humans, and include species such as cats,...
- List of endemic fauna of Puerto Rico
- List of Puerto Rican birds
- List of Vieques birds
- El Toro WildernessEl Toro WildernessEl Toro Wilderness is a National Wilderness Preservation System located partly within El Yunque National Forest on the island of Puerto Rico...