Includes: Sulawesi Eared Nightjar, Philippine Eared Nightjar, Simeulue Eared Nightjar, Monsoon Eared-nightjar, Pacific Eared-nightjar
- Lyncornis macrotis
Eurostopodus macrotis
Identification
31–40 cm
- Brown speckled and spotted buff upper parts
- Noticeable ears
Sexes similar
Distribution
Asia: China, Tibet, India, Bangladesh
Southeast Asia: found in Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Philippines, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra, Sulawesi
Taxonomy
Reference [3] uses an integrative approach to recommend splitting the species into 4: "Great Eared Nightjar", L. cerviniceps (sspp. bourdilloni, cerviniceps); "Simeulue Eared Nightjar", L. jacobsoni (jacobsoni); "Sulawesi Eared Nightjar", L. macropterus (macropterus) and "Philippine Eared Nightjar", L. macrotis (macrotis). It concludes that bourdilloni should be treated as a synonym of cerviniceps. Subspecies jacobsoni is genetically and vocally very close to cerviniceps but shows marked plumage differences. In contrast, subspecies macrotis and macropterus are indistinguishable but have deep divergent mitochondrial DNA and different vocalisations.
Reference [4] notes the species has been split into western and eastern species by some authors ("Monsoon Eared-nightjar", L. cerviniceps; subspecies bourdilloni, cerviniceps, jacobsoni, and "Pacific Eared-nightjar", L. macrotis; subspecies macrotis and macropteris respectively).
This taxon was formerly placed in the genus Eurostopodus.
Subspecies
Clements recognises the following subspecies [1]:
- L. m. bourdilloni: "Great Eared Nightjar". South-western India
- L. m. cerviniceps: "Great Eared Nightjar". Bangladesh and north-eastern India to southern China, Indochina and northern Malay Peninsula
- L. m. jacobsoni: "Simeulue Eared Nightjar". Simeulue Island (off north-western Sumatra)
- L. m. macrotis: "Philippine Eared Nightjar". Northern and eastern Philippine Islands
- L. m. macropterus: "Sulawesi Eared Nightjar". Sulawesi, Talaud Island, Sangihe Island, Banggai Island and Sula Island
Habitat
Primary and secondary forest and forest edges, often near water.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet includes moths, beetles, termites etc. The hawk for these over forest clearings and nearby fields.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Birdforum thread discussing Nightjar taxonomy
- Sangster, George & King, Ben & Irestedt, Martin & Ericson, Per. (2022). Integrative taxonomy of eared nightjars (Aves: Lyncornis) underscores the complementarity of morphology, vocalizations and DNA evidence. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. zlac037. 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac037/6591392.
- Eaton, JA, B van Balen, NW Brickle, FE Rheindt 2021. Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago (Greater Sundas and Wallacea), Second Edition. Lynx Editions. ISBN978-84-16728-44-2
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2014)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Great Eared Nightjar. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Great_Eared_Nightjar
External Links
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