The least poorwill or least pauraque (''Siphonorhis brewsteri'') is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae, and the only confirmed extant species of its genus. It is endemic to the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

, which is shared by the Dominican Republic and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The least poorwill was previously considered conspecific with the

Jamaican poorwill The Jamaican poorwill (''Siphonorhis americana''), also known as the Jamaican pauraque or Jamaican least pauraque, is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is (or was) endemic to Jamaica and has not been recorded since 1860.Dree ...

(''Siphonorhis americana''), which is now believed to be

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

. It has two subspecies, the nominate ''S. b. brewsteri'' and ''S. b. gonavensis''.Cleere, N. and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Least Pauraque (''Siphonorhis brewsteri''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.leapau1.01 retrieved October 13, 2021

Description

The least poorwill is long. The nominate subspecies' upperparts are grayish brown with blackish streaks and the folded wing shows bold white spots. It has a wide buff collar on the hindneck. The breast is dark brown with white spots and the belly white with brown bars and vermiculation. All but the central tail feathers have narrow pale tips, white in the male and buff in the female. ''S. b. gonavensis'' is thought to be smaller and paler overall.

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of least poorwill is found in the central and western parts of the Dominican Republic, especially Pedernales, Independencia, and Barahona Provinces, and adjoining Ouest Department in Haiti. ''S. b. gonavensis'' is found only on Haiti's Ile de la Gonâve. The species is thought to be generally rare, although it can be locally common, and is possibly under-reported. Recorded sightings are most common in the Dominican Republic, with very few in Haiti. The least poorwill inhabits arid to semi-arid landscapes such as limestone woodland and areas of cactus and thorn scrub. It also occurs in deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forest. In elevation it ranges from sea level to .

Behavior

Feeding

Little is known about the least poorwill's feeding behavior and diet, though the latter is believed to be insects.

Breeding

The least poorwill is believed to breed between April and June. One clutch of two eggs was laid directly on the ground with no nest.

Vocalization

The male least poorwill's song is "a whistled 'toorrrrri' rising in pitch, or a warbled 'tworrri'." The species also makes "short, whistled 'toorric' or 'to-ic'" calls and "dove-like scratchy sounds".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

originally assessed the least poorwill in 1988 as Near Threatened and changed the rating to Data Deficient in 2000. Since 2007 it has again been assessed as Near Threatened. Its population is estimated at fewer than 15,000 mature individuals and is decreasing. The primary threats are habitat destruction and predation by introduced mongooses and rats.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1263974 least poorwill Endemic birds of Hispaniola Endemic birds of the Caribbean Birds of the Dominican Republic Birds of Haiti least poorwill least poorwill Taxonomy articles created by Polbot