The barred owlet-nightjar (''Aegotheles bennettii'') is a species of bird in the owlet-nightjar family
Aegothelidae. It is found in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
. The species was originally thought to be the same species as the
Australian owlet-nightjar, until that species was found within the range of the barred owlet-nightjar. It was also considered to be the same species as the
Vogelkop owlet-nightjar.
There are three subspecies, the nominate, from south-eastern New Guinea, ''A. b. wiedenfeldi'' from northern New Guinea, and ''A. b. plumifer'' from the
D’Entrecasteaux Islands.
[Holyoak, D.T. & Kirwan, G.M. (2017). Barred Owlet-nightjar (''Aegotheles bennettii''). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/55139 on 9 March 2017).]
The barred owlet-nightjar is and weighs . The back is dark grey with buff
vermiculation
Vermiculation is a surface pattern of dense but irregular lines, so called from the Latin ''vermiculus'' meaning "little worm" because the shapes resemble worms, worm-casts, or worm tracks in mud or wet sand. The word may be used in a number of ...
s and pale undersides with dark barring. The face has broad buff eyebrows. The sexes are similar.
Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests, or forest edge, up to , or for the nominate race. A nest has been found in a dead trunk. The eggs are white, and the clutch size of the known nests is two eggs. The species is not thought to be threatened, as large areas of suitable habitat remain.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1264739
barred owlet-nightjar
Birds of prey of New Guinea
barred owlet-nightjar
barred owlet-nightjar
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot