Australian Owlet-nightjar - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Tannin
Near Lake Boga, northern Victoria, Australia, March 2006

Aegotheles cristatus

Identification

Male:
Grey, with paler underparts faintly barred with black. Two wide black stripes extend over the head from the top of the eyes, and meet on the back of the neck.
Female

• Two colour morphs
  

Rufous and Grey, though the grey form has some rufous tinging. Otherwise similar to the male.

Distribution

Australia including Tasmania, and New Guinea.

Taxonomy

In the past, New Caledonian Owlet-nightjar has been included in Australian Owlet-nightjar.

Subspecies^[1]

Two subspecies are recognized:

• A. c. cristatus (major, leucogaster):

• South-eastern New Guinea and Australia

• A. c. tasmanicus:

• Tasmania

Habitat

Photo showing full length of bird by Mat & Cathy
Location: Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, Victoria, Australia, February 2009

Woodland, open valleys, wetlands and areas of degraded agricultural land.

Behaviour

Breeding

They nest in hollow tree or fencepost. They raise one brood per season. Both sexes construct the nest, incubate the eggs and care for the chicks.

Diet

The diet includes insects.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Birds in Backyards
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Australian Owlet-nightjar. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Australian_Owlet-nightjar

External Links

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