The great eared nightjar (''Lyncornis macrotis'') is a species of

nightjar 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 goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk ta ...

in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in southwest India and in parts of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. 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.

Taxonomy

The great eared nightjar was formally described in 1831 by the Irish zoologist

Nicholas Aylward Vigors Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – 26 October 1840) was an Ireland, Irish zoologist and politician. He popularized the classification of birds on the basis of the quinarian system. Early life Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow on 17 ...

based on a sample collected in the neighbourhood of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in the Philippines. Vigors coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Caprimulgus macrotis''. The great eared nightjar was formerly placed in the genus ''

Eurostopodus ''Eurostopodus'' is a genus of eared nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. This genus is distinctive among the Old World nightjars in lacking long rictal bristles. It also shows some features that are not shared with Caprimulginae and Chordeil ...

''. It and the closely related Malaysian eared nightjar were moved to the resurrected genus ''

Lyncornis ''Lyncornis'' is a genus of eared nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. Taxonomy The genus ''Lyncornis'' was introduced in 1838 by the English ornithologist John Gould with ''Lyncornis cerviniceps'' Gould 1838 as the type species. This taxon is ...

'' based on the results of a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study published in 2010 that found large genetic differences between the great eared nightjar and other species in ''Eurostopodus''. The genus name ''Lyncornis'' combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

', ' meaning "lynx" with ' meaning "bird". The specific epithet ''macrotis'' is from the Ancient Greek ' meaning "long-eared" (from ' meaning "long" and ', ' meaning "ear"). Five

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognised: * ''L. m. cerviniceps''

Gould Gould may refer to: People * Gould (name), a surname Places United States * Gould, Arkansas, a city * Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community * Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Gould, Oklahoma, a town * Gould, West Virginia, a ...

, 1838 – Bangladesh and northeast India to south China, Indochina and north Malay Peninsula * ''L. m. bourdilloni'' Hume, 1875 – southwest India * ''L. m. macrotis'' ( Vigors, 1831) – Philippines (except most West

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao ...

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...

group, and Sulu Archipelago) * ''L. m. jacobsoni'' Junge, 1936 –

Simeulue Simeulue is an island of Indonesia, off the west coast of Sumatra. It covers an area of 1754 square kilometres (677 square miles), including minor offshore islands. It had a population of 80,674 at the 2010 census and 92,865 at the 2020 census ...

(west of north

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

) * ''L. m. macropterus'' Bonaparte, 1850 –

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

, Sangihe and

Talaud Islands The Talaud Islands (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Talaud'') also spelled Talaur or Talaut, are a group of islands situated about 225 miles (360 km) northeast of Sulawesi, in Indonesia, north-east of the Sangihe Islands. The Ta ...

(north of northeast Sulawesi), Banggai and Sula Island (east of Sulawesi)

Description

The great eared nightjar is the largest species in the family in terms of length, which can range from . Males weigh an average of and females weigh an average of , making it the second heaviest species in the family after the

nacunda nighthawk The nacunda nighthawk (''Chordeiles nacunda'') is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, ...

.''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses, 2nd Edition'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (2008), .

Distribution and habitat

It is found in South Asia and Southeast Asia with populations in the Western Ghats and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or moist lowland

tropical forest Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fores ...

Behaviour

Like other nightjars they are active at dusk and at night. They have a distinctive call which includes a sharp ''tsiik'' followed by a pause and a two-syllable ''ba-haaww''. Eurostopodus macrotis Gwillim.jpg, Painting by Elizabeth Gwillim c. 1801 Eurostopodus.jpg, Head of ''L. m. cerviniceps''

Breeding

The nest is a scrape on the ground and the clutch consists of a single egg. The chick is well camouflaged among leaf litter.

References

External links

Internet Bird Collection

Malayalam

great eared nightjar The great eared nightjar (''Lyncornis macrotis'') 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 ...

Birds of Southeast Asia

Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{caprimulgiformes-stub