Band-winged Nightjar - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Dave B Smith
Los Frailes, Merida, Venezuela

Systellura longirostris

Includes Tepui Nightjar and Tschudi's Nightjar

Identification

Has white or buff wing bars

Distribution

South America: found in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

Eight subspecies are recognized:

• S. l. ruficervix:

• Andes of Colombia to winter Venezuela and Ecuador

• S. l. roraimae:

• Tepuis of southern Venezuela

• S. l. atripunctata:

• Andes of Peru to Bolivia, north-western Argentina and northern Chile

• S. l. bifasciata:

• Chile and western Argentina

• S. l. longirostris:

• South-eastern Brazil to Paraguay, Uruguay and north-eastern Argentina

• S. l. patagonica:

• Central and southern Argentina

• S. l. mochaensis:

• Isla Mocha and Ascención, central Chile

• S. l. decussatus:

• Arid littoral of western Peru and extreme northern Chile

Three of these have been proposed for status as full species by one or more authority: S. roraimae (Tepui Nightjar), S. ruficervix(this one especially in historical sources), S. decussatus (Tschudi's Nightjar; now accepted by SACC); the birds from Sucre and Monagas in Venezuela might also deserve full species status.

It was formerly included in the genus Caprimulgus.

Habitat

Dry and high-altitude shrubland and high-altitude grassland.

Behaviour

Eats insects which are caught around light sources, or flycatching from e.g., roads.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Birdforum thread discussing taxonomy of Nightjars and Frogmouths.
4. SACC baseline read July 2010
5. Restall et al. 2006. Birds of Northern South America. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300124156
6. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Band-winged Nightjar. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Band-winged_Nightjar

External Links

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