''Macrodipteryx'' was a
genus of
African
nightjars consisting of two species: the
pennant-winged nightjar and the
standard-winged nightjar
The standard-winged nightjar (''Caprimulgus longipennis'') is a nocturnal bird in the nightjar family.
Distribution and habitat
It is a resident breeder in Africa from Senegal east to Ethiopia. It is found in dry savannah habitats, with some scr ...
. They inhabit subtropical woodlands, and the males of both species acquire strikingly elongated
primaries in the breeding season. However, the former genus is now considered to be a synonym of ''
Caprimulgus
''Caprimulgus'' is a large and very widespread genus of nightjars, medium-sized nocturnal birds with long pointed wings, short legs and short bills. ''Caprimulgus'' is derived from the Latin ''capra'', "nanny goat", and ''mulgere'', "to milk", re ...
'' Linnaeus, 1758.
[Han, K.-L.; Robbins, M.B.; Braun, M.J. 2010: A multigene estimate of phylogeny in the nightjars and nighthawks (Caprimulgidae). ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'', 55(2): 443-453. ]
In the standard-winged nightjar the shaft of the second primary becomes much elongated, while in the pennant-winged nightjar the second primary grows to more than twice the body length. Both species have an insect-like call in the breeding season, but are silent in the non-breeding season. The
primaries of the females and immature males are boldly barred in rufous and brown. Both the wing and
remige shapes differ from other African nightjars, the primaries being without clear emargination.
The breeding ranges and seasons of the two species do not overlap. The standard-winged nightjar disperses southwards for breeding in the late Northern Hemisphere winter, while the pennant-winged nightjar crosses the equator southwards to breed in the early Southern Hemisphere summer.
References
# Zimmerman D.A. et al., 1996. ''Birds of Kenya''
# Maclean G.L., 1997. ''Pennant-winged Nightjar'' In: ''The atlas of southern African birds'' Vol. 1: Non-passerines
# Sinclair I., Ryan P., 2003. ''Birds of Africa south of the Sahara''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q751299
Bird genera
Obsolete bird taxa