| Ventivorus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Caprimulgiformes |
| Family: | Caprimulgidae |
| Genus: | † Ventivorus Mourer-Chauviré, 1988 |
| Species: | †V. ragei |
| Binomial name | |
| †Ventivorus ragei Mourer-Chauviré, 1988 | |
Ventivorus is an extinct genus of nightjar represented by fossils found in the Le Bretou fossil site in Quercy. [1] [2] The genus is only known from a single species, Ventivorus ragei.
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called bugeaters, their primary source of food being insects. Some New World species are called nighthawks. The English word nightjar originally referred to the European nightjar.
The European nightjar, common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia and Northwestern China. The Latin generic name refers to the old myth that the nocturnal nightjar suckled from goats, causing them to cease to give milk. The six subspecies differ clinally, the birds becoming smaller and paler towards the east of the range. All populations are migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. Their densely patterned grey and brown plumage makes individuals difficult to see in the daytime when they rest on the ground or perch motionless along a branch, although the male shows white patches in the wings and tail as he flies at night.
Nighthawks are nocturnal birds of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, which is a grouping of 92 species of medium sized birds with long wings and short bills specialized for eating insects. The nighthawk's subfamily consists of four genera: Chordeiles; Swainson, 1832, Lurocalis; Cassin, 1851, Podager; Wagler, 1832, and Nyctiprogne; Bonaparte, 1857, which are all native to the western hemisphere.
Potoos are a group of birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. They are sometimes called poor-me-ones, after their haunting calls. The family Nyctibiidae was formerly included with the nightjars in the order Caprimulgiformes but is now placed in a separate order, Nyctibiiformes. There are seven species in two genera in tropical Central and South America. Fossil evidence indicates that they also inhabited Europe during the Paleogene.
The eared nightjars are a small group of nocturnal birds in the nightjar family, although the taxonomy is uncertain. There are seven species, mainly found in forest and scrub from China to Australia. Five species are placed in the genus Eurostopodus, the other two species in Lyncornis. They are long winged birds with plumage patterned with grey and brown to camouflage them when resting on the ground. They feed on insects caught in flight. A single white egg is laid directly on the ground and incubated by both adults. The chicks can walk soon after hatching.
The brown nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is the only species in the genus Veles. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, and Liberia.
The Long-tailed Nightjar is one of 98 species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae, the "true nightjars". It is a nocturnal, insectivorous bird characterized by its distinctive long tail. It is found throughout mainland Africa in open areas, arid semi-deserts, and savannas, with common sightings alongside roadways.
The collared nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is endemic to Madagascar.
The sombre nightjar or dusky nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is native to East Africa.
The Nubian nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in salt marshes of Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Israel, Kenya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The fiery-necked nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae, which is found mostly in Africa south of the equator, though it has been spotted in a few countries north of the equator. It is most often found in woodland savannas or other deciduous woodlands. It is usually distinguished by its tawny coloured collar which gives the species its common name. It has a distinctive call that many have rendered as 'good-lord-deliver-us'. The fiery-necked nightjar is an insectivorous species that mostly eats butterflies, moths and other insects. The fiery-necked nightjar breeds after the dry season and typically produce two clutches with two eggs per clutch.
The rufous-cheeked nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is an intra-African migrant that breeds in the south of its range. It spends the non-breeding season in eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, southern Chad and Sudan, the Republic of the Congo, the D.R.C. and western Central African Republic. Throughout the year it can be found in Southern Africa. It is a nocturnal species that feeds on flying insects, mainly hunting at dusk and the early night. They can hunt at night thanks to their large eyes that are adept at seeing in the dark. They cannot see in complete darkness and most likely cannot see colours either. The rufous-cheeked nightjar forms monogamous pairs and the egg laying period is from September to November. It looks very similar to other African nightjars and they are frequently misidentified during research and studies.
The white-winged nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.
The great eared nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in southwest India and in parts of Southeast Asia. This very large nightjar has long barred wings, a barred tail and long ear-tufts which are often recumbent. It has a white throat band but has no white on its wings or on its tail.
The Malaysian eared nightjar or Malay eared nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. They were previously known as Eurostopodus temminckii prior to their taxonomic revision. They are also known as Taptibau Kecil in Bahasa melayu or Tukang Tabtibau amongst Malaysian indigenous communities. They are dispersed throughout Southeast Asia, primarily occurring in Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. They are nocturnal insectivorous birds characterised by cryptic colouration of brown and white patterns, to aid them in camouflaging into their environment. Due to their nocturnal nature and feeding habits, they prefer subtropical, tropical and moist lowland forests, and have been recorded from sea-level to 1065 meters. They are easily distinguished by their 'ear-tufts,' giving them an "eared" appearance which led to their name.
The long-trained nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Argentina and Brazil.
Siphonorhis is a genus of nightjars, known as the Caribbean pauraques, in the family Caprimulgidae.
Strisores, sometimes called nightbirds, is a clade of birds that includes the living families and orders Caprimulgidae, Nyctibiidae (potoos), Steatornithidae (oilbirds), Podargidae (frogmouths), Apodiformes, as well as the Aegotheliformes (owlet-nightjars) whose distinctness was only recently realized. The Apodiformes and the Aegotheliformes form the Daedalornithes.
Lyncornis is a genus of eared nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae.
Vanescaves is a probable clade of strisorean birds that include the clades Steatornithiformes, Nyctibiiformes, Podargiformes (frogmouths), and Apodimorphae. Some molecular studies do support the grouping of these birds, others offer conflicting positions of the non-apodimorphaean strisoreans. In 2019 the authors Chen et al. performed a combined analysis using 2289 ultra-conserved elements [UCEs], 117 morphological characters from extant and fossil taxa found support in this clade. The authors then proposed to name this group, which its meaning is Latin for "vanish birds" in reference to the disparate nature of their geographic distribution, as well as to the poem "A Route of Evanescence" by the American poet Emily Dickinson which features a hummingbird as the main subject. In 2020 Chen & Field named the two major subclades of this group, with Sedentaves and Letornithes for their crown-groups.
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