Nyctidromus is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

nightjars 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 ...

in the family Caprimulgidae. The species are widely distributed in Central and South America.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Nyctidromus'' was introduced in 1838 by the English ornithologist

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...

to accommodate his newly described ''Nyctidromus derbyanus''. This taxon is therefore the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

; it is now considered as a subspecies of the

pauraque The pauraque (''Nyctidromus albicollis'') – also called the common pauraque to distinguish it from similar species – is a nightjar species, one of two birds in the genus ''Nyctidromus''. It breeds in the subtropical and tropical regio ...

, ''Nyctidromus albicollis'' (

Gmelin Gmelin may refer to: * Gmelin's test, a chemical test * Gmelin database, a German handbook/encyclopedia of inorganic compounds initiated by Leopold Gmelin People * Carl Christian Gmelin (1762–1837), German botanist, author of ''Flora Badensis ...

) 1789. The genus name 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 p ...

''nukti-'' meaning "nocturnal" or "night-" with ''-dromos'' meaning "-racer" (from ''trekhō'' "to run"). The genus contains two species: *

Pauraque The pauraque (''Nyctidromus albicollis'') – also called the common pauraque to distinguish it from similar species – is a nightjar species, one of two birds in the genus ''Nyctidromus''. It breeds in the subtropical and tropical regio ...

, ''Nyctidromus albicollis'' *

Anthony's nightjar Anthony's nightjar (''Nyctidromus anthonyi''), also known as the scrub nightjar, is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics Anthony's nightjar was originally described in g ...

, ''Nyctidromus anthonyi''

References

Bird genera {{Caprimulgiformes-stub