Collared nightjar

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Collared nightjar
Collared nightjar (Gactornis enarratus) with two chicks, Andasibe National Park, Madagascar.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Strisores
Order: Caprimulgiformes
Family: Caprimulgidae
Genus: Gactornis
Han, Robbins & Braun, M, 2010
Species:
G. enarratus
Binomial name
Gactornis enarratus
(Gray, GR, 1871)
Synonyms

Caprimulgus enarratus

The collared nightjar (Gactornis enarratus) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is endemic to Madagascar.

Contents

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. [2]

Taxonomy

The collared nightjar was formally described in 1871 by the English zoologist George Gray with the binomial name Caprimulgus enarratus based on a specimen collected in Madagascar. [3] [4] The specific epithet is Latin meaning "explained in detail". [5]

A molecular phylogenetic study by Kin-Lan Han and collaborators published in 2010 found that the collared nightjar was not closely related to any other species of nightjar. The authors therefore introduced a new genus Gactornis to accommodate the species. The genus name combines the four single letter abbreviations for the DNA nucleotides (G, A, C, T for guanine, adenine, cytosine, thymine) and the Ancient Greek word ornis meaning "bird". [6] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [7]

Apparence

Collared nightjars are 24cm long, with females weighting around 57g and males around 48g. [8] Otherwise sexes are similar.

Behaviour

Feeding

Forages for insects by hawking both above and below forest canopy. Has also been observed flycatching from an exposed perch at a height of 20m, situated at the edge of a forest clearing, flying off in short spurts covering around 10m. One of these flycatching bouts lasted 15 minutes. [9]

Breeding

Breeds between late September and early December, generally at the edge of a forest clearing or track. They don't build nests in the typical sense, as eggs are laid either on the ground leaf, on epiphytic ferns (up 1.7m off the ground), or in the crowns of freestanding ferns (up to 1.5m off the ground). Eggs are white, often with a pinkish-brown tinge, and young are downy. Information about incubation period or fledglings is currently unknown.

Vocal behaviour

Adult alarm calls near the nest consist of liquid, repetitive notes of "kow" or "keeow". Adults also make gutteral hissings while doing threatening or defensive displays. Chicks produce soft 'chic' sounds.

Conservation status

Near threatened. Generally considered rare, though possibly also under recorded due to their secretive nature.Their threats include hunting and habitat destruction (generally deforestation).

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2016). "Gactornis enarratus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016 e.T22690000A93256391. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22690000A93256391.en . Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  2. ↑ Cleere, N. (1999). "Family Caprimulgidae (Nightjars)" . In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 5: Barn-owls to Hummingbirds. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 302-387 [376]. ISBN   978-84-87334-25-2.
  3. ↑ Gray, George Robert (1871). "On a new species of Caprimulgus". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 4th series. 8: 428-429 [428].
  4. ↑ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1940). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 4. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 214.
  5. ↑ Jobling, James A. "Gactornis". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  6. ↑ Han, K.-L.; Robbins, M.B.; Braun, M.J. (2010). "A multi-gene estimate of phylogeny in the nightjars and nighthawks (Caprimulgidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55 (2): 443–453. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.023.
  7. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Frogmouths, Oilbird, potoos, nightjars". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  8. ↑ "Collared Nightjar". www.oiseaux-birds.com. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  9. ↑ Cleere, Nigel (2020). "Collared Nightjar (Gactornis enarratus), version 1.0" . Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.colnig1.01. ISSN   2771-3105.


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