The little nightjar (''Setopagis parvula'') 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

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The little nightjar was described as ''Caprimulgus parvulus'' but since the early 2010s has been placed in its current genus ''Setopagis''. At various times what are now

Todd's nightjar Todd's nightjar (''Setopagis heterura'') is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, and Venezuela.del Hoyo, J., N. Collar, G. M. Kirwan, and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Todd's Nightjar (''Setopagis ...

(''Setopagis heterura'') and Anthony's nightjar (''Nyctidromus anthonyi'') were considered subspecies of little nightjar, but it is now treated as

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021Provost, K. (2020). Little Nightjar (''Setopagis parvula''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.litnig1.01 retrieved October 8, 2021

Description

The little nightjar is long and weighs . The male is generally grayish brown with buff, brown, and blackish brown spots and streaks. The belly is buff with brown bars. Its hindneck has a broad but indistinct buff collar, the chin is buffy, and the throat is white. Its wing has a broad white band and the outer tail feathers have white tips. The female is similar but its throat is buff and it does not have white on the wing and tail.

Distribution and habitat

The little nightjar is found from eastern Peru across Bolivia and central and northeastern Brazil to the Atlantic coast, and south through southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay to central Argentina. One vagrant has been recorded in

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

. In much of the southern part of its range, and possibly in Peru, it is believed to be migratory, moving north and east during the austral winter. It inhabits brushy savanna and the interior and edges of open woodland and forest. It can also be found in plantations of non-native ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

''. In elevation it ranges from sea level in the east to about in Bolivia.

Behavior

Feeding

The little nightjar is nocturnal. It forages by sallying from the ground or a low perch and possibly during continuous flight like some other nightjars. Its prey is insects; though its diet has not been detailed, members of at least five

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

have been identified as part of it.

Breeding

The little nightjar's breeding season appears to vary across its range; breeding activity has been noted between August and January. The two egg clutch is laid directly on the ground and both sexes incubate.

Vocalization

The little nightjar's song is "a rattling, clacking, flat, unbirdlike sound in pattern of ''hurr-ee quick quick quick quick quick quick''".

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 ...

has assessed the little nightjar as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range and though its population is unknown it is believed to be stable. No threats have been identified.