The least poorwill or least pauraque (''Siphonorhis brewsteri'') 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 tal ...

in the family Caprimulgidae, and the only confirmed extant species of its genus. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

and Haiti.

Taxonomy and systematics

The least poorwill was previously considered

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...

with the Jamaican poorwill (''Siphonorhis americana''), which is now believed to be extinct. 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 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 ...

. 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 Province Barahona () is a province of the Dominican Republic. The Barahona Coast is located on the southwestern part of the Dominican Republic approximately three hours drive from Santo Domingo the capital of the Dominican Republic. In 2019, volunteers f ...

s, 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 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 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, which is shared by the Domi ...

Endemic birds of Hispaniola Endemic birds of the Caribbean Birds of the Dominican Republic Birds of Haiti

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot