| Bates's nightjar | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Caprimulgiformes |
| Family: | Caprimulgidae |
| Genus: | Caprimulgus |
| Species: | C. batesi |
| Binomial name | |
| Caprimulgus batesi Sharpe, 1906 | |
Bates's nightjar (Caprimulgus batesi) or the forest nightjar, is a bird species of the family Caprimulgidae, found in the rainforests of western Sub-Saharan Africa.
Bates's nightjar is a large, dark nightjar. At rest looks large headed and long tailed. The upperparts and wing coverts are dark brown marked with black and buff streaks and spots, with a normally indistinct buff collar on the hindneck which may be more obvious on some individuals. The underparts are blackish brown with buff speckling on the breast, becoming barred on the belly, the throat is whitish. In flight the male shows a small white spot towards the wingtip and white tips to the two outer tail feathers. The female is paler and lack white spots on the wings or outer tail. [2] They measure 29–31 cm in length and weigh 89–112g. [3]
The song of Bates's nightjar is a loud "whow whowwhowwhowwhow" in which following the first note there is a pause then a repeated series of notes. [2]
Bates's nightjar has a fragmented distribution, one population is found in southern Cameroon, another in western Cameroon, Gabon, southern Central African Republic and western Congo, a third slightly separate in the western Congo, with another in eastern Congo and north-western Democratic Republic of the Congo, a fifth population ranges across the Democratic Republic of the Congo and into eastern Uganda in the Bwamba Forest while the last population is in the central Democratic Republic of the Congo. [2]
Bates's nightjar occurs mainly in lowland primary rainforest where it prefers clearings and forest edges and can be common near water, especially near rives or flooded forest. It can also be found in secondary forest and plantations close to the edge of primary rainforest. [2]
Like most nightjars, Bates's nightjar is crepuscular and nocturnal. It roosts on the ground, in clearings or on paths, or several metres up perched on a liana. Forages for prey such as mantises, crickets, grasshopper, beetles and moths over and within the forest canopy, over clearings and along the edges of riverine forest. It does not build a nest and the single egg is laid directly onto the bare ground or among the leaf litter, nest site are sometimes on paths or trails. The breeding season is December to January in Gabon and potentially all tear in Democratic Republic of Congo. [2]
The Satanic nightjar, also Heinrich's nightjar, is a mid-sized, spotted, dark brown nightjar endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The species was discovered in 1931 by Gerd Heinrich, a German natural historian who collected a single female holotype from Mount Klabat on the Minahasa peninsula of Northern Sulawesi. In the following decades, there were a few unconfirmed reports of sightings and calls of the bird, but it did not officially resurface until 1996 when David Bishop and Jared Diamond positively identified it in Lore Lindu National Park by its sound. Making the visible rediscovery available for multiple people in the tour group including poet and writer Jan Zwaaneveld. This increased the bird's estimated range by 750 km. It has since been observed and described in the literature multiple times.
The red-thighed sparrowhawk, alternatively known as the red-legged sparrowhawk or the western little sparrowhawk is a species of sparrowhawk in the family Accipitridae from western and northern central Africa.
The Congo serpent eagle is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Dryotriorchis, although it was formerly placed in Circaetus. This species is distributed across the African tropical rainforest, including upper and lower Guinean forests. This serpent eagle specializes in hunting in these forests’ dark understories. It has two subspecies, the nominate subspecies Dryotriorchis spectabilis spectabilis and Dryotriorchis spectabilis batesi. Though monotypic, it appears to be very closely related to Circaetus. This hawk is a medium-sized bird with distinctive short, rounded wings and a long, rounded tail. It is varying shades of brown on its back and has a slight crest. Its breast is white with variable amounts of a rufous wash and, in the nominate subspecies, is covered in round, blackish spots. The subspecies D. s. batesi only has these dots on its flanks. The Congo serpent eagle closely resembles Cassin's hawk-eagle, and some ornithologists believe that this likeness is a rare example of avian mimicry. It is a very vocal raptor, and often is one of the most heard species in its habitat.
Bates's swift is a species of small swift in the family Apodidae which is found in western Africa.
The Yucatan nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras.
The long-tailed nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in multiple African countries including 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, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.
The Hispaniolan nightjar is a nightjar species endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The plain nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It breeds in the southern Sahel, Southern Sudan, the Horn of Africa and the southwestern Arabian Peninsula. It migrates to lower latitudes - including central Congo and northern Tanzania. A rather plain looking nightjar with grey-brown, brown, and rufous morphs. Males have white spots on primaries, large white corners to tail, and no white on the throat. Females have buffy-brown wing spots, and no white on the tail.
The swamp nightjar is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family found in Africa.
The montane nightjar, mountain nightjar or Abyssinian nightjar, is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is native to upland regions of Central and Eastern Africa where it is a locally common species.
The dusky nightjar or dusky whip-poor-will is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
The freckled nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It has a wide yet patchy distribution throughout the Afrotropics.
The black-throated coucal is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in West Africa in dense second growth along forest edge and grassy swamps. The subspecies found in northern and central Zaire is sometimes split as Neumann's coucal.
The red-chested owlet is a species of owl in the family Strigidae, native to the African tropical rainforest. Its habits and behaviour are poorly known.
The maned owl or the Akun scops owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae that is endemic to Africa. It is the only species in genus Jubula.
Bates's sunbird is a species of sunbird in the family Nectariniidae which occurs in Western African forests and Central African rainforests, and locally in other types of forest in Central Africa.
The yellow-crested woodpecker, also known as the golden-crowned woodpecker, is a species of bird in the family Picidae. Some taxonomic authorities place this species in Dendropicos. Its typical habitat is wet tropical forest and it is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
The dwarf scaly-tailed squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Anomaluridae. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Uganda. The species is nocturnal and arboreal and lives in subtropical or tropical lowland rainforest. Membranes attached to its limbs and tail enable it to glide between trees. This squirrel is currently not considered to be threatened by habitat destruction; "much of the habitat within parts of the known range of this species is relatively intact, and the species is unlikely to be experiencing any significant declines."
Bates's shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. This large black shrew was first described by the British zoologist Guy Dollman in 1915, the type locality being the vicinity of the Como River in Gabon. The exact definition of this species is unclear; it is often included in Fraser's musk shrew, or reported as Wimmer's shrew. Its karyotype is 2n=50, FN-76, which is identical to the Nigerian shrew, and the species complex is in need of a thorough revision.
Bates's paradise flycatcher is a passerine bird belonging to the monarch-flycatcher family, Monarchidae. The sexes are similar in appearance with the upper parts being rufous and the head and underparts being bluish-grey. It is native to central Africa where it is found in the understorey of forests.
