The Yucatan nightjar (''Antrostomus badius'') 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

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

.Schulenberg, T. S., M. d. C. Arizmendi, C. I. Rodríguez-Flores, C. A. Soberanes-González, R. A. Behrstock, and A. Van Tatenhove (2020). Yucatan Nightjar (''Antrostomus badius''), 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.yucnig1.01 retrieved October 16, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The Yucatan nightjar was for many years classified in genus ''Caprimulgus'' but was later restored to its original genus ''Antrostomus''. It and the

tawny-collared nightjar The tawny-collared nightjar (''Antrostomus salvini'') is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Taxonomy and systematics The tawny-collared nightjar was originally described as ''Caprimulgus salvini''; ' ...

(''A. salvini'') were for a time considered subspecies of the

silky-tailed nightjar The silky-tailed nightjar (''Antrostomus sericocaudatus'') is a species of nightjar birds in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland for ...

(''A. sericocaudatus''). The Yucatan nightjar is

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 ...

Description

The Yucatan nightjar is long. One male weighed and three females . The male's upperparts are grayish brown. The crown has blackish brown spots and grayish white speckles, and the back and rump have buff and cinnamon speckles and broad blackish brown streaks. It has a broad tawny or buff collar on the nape and the sides of the neck. The tail is brown with faint tawny bars; the three outermost pairs of feathers have wide white tips and the innermost pair grayish brown mottling on the tips. The wings are brown to grayish brown with tawny spots and bars. The face is tawny with blackish brown speckles. The chin and throat are dark brown with cinnamon bars and a narrow white band below the latter. The breast is brown with buff and cinnamon speckles, and the belly and flanks are blackish brown with cinnamon speckles, brown bars, and many white spots. The female is similar to the male but the pale tips of the outer tail feathers are much smaller and buff, not white.

Distribution and habitat

The Yucatan nightjar is a year-round resident of Mexico's

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

and

Cozumel Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán ...

off its coast. It is a nonbreeding visitor to Belize and northwestern Honduras, and there are a few reports from northern Guatemala in that season as well. It inhabits "scrub and brushy woodland ndforest edge".

Behavior

Feeding

The Yucatan nightjar is

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

. It hunts for flying insects by sallying from a perch and possibly also from the ground.

Breeding

The Yucatan nightjar's breeding season has not been defined. The clutch size is two eggs, probably laid directly on the ground with no nest as is common among nightjars.

Vocalization

The Yucatan nightjar's song is "a loud, clear ''puc ree-u-reeeu'' or ''pc weeu wee-weeeu''. It is sung from a hidden perch in a bush or tree, mostly from February through August. It also makes a "hard, hollow clucking, ''k-lok k-lok ... or p-tok ...''."

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 Yucatan nightjar as being of Least Concern. Its population is estimated to be at least 50,000 mature individuals but is decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1265592

Yucatan nightjar The Yucatan nightjar (''Antrostomus badius'') is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras.Schulenberg, T. S., M. d. C. Arizmendi, C. I. Rodríguez-Flores, C. A. Soberanes-Gonzál ...

Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Birds of Mexico