Buff-collared Nightjar

Photo by Wintibird
California Gulch, Arizona, USA, July 2016

Antrostomus ridgwayi

Identification

23cm

• Upperparts and breast are marked with brown, grey, black and white
• Pale grey-brown underparts
• Tail: dark brown, finely barred tail

• White tipped in male
• Buffy tipped in female

• Buff collar round neck and nape
• Black legs and feet

Distribution

North and Central America
North America: found only in Arizona
Central America: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

There are 2 subspecies:

• A. r. ridgwayi:

• South-eastern Arizona and western Mexico (Sonora to Oaxaca)

• A. r. troglodytes:

• Central Guatemala to Honduras and central Nicaragua

It was formerly placed in the genus Caprimulgus.

Habitat

Open country, dry open woodlands, scrub, and thorny forest edges.

Behaviour

Nocturnal.

Breeding

This bird does not make a nest; eggs are laid directly on bare ground near rocks or scrubby vegetation.

Diet

They hawk at night for flying insects.

Vocalisation

Song: cuk, cuk, cuk, cuk, cuk, cukacheea.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia
4. Whatbird

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Buff-collared Nightjar. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 14 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Buff-collared_Nightjar

External Links

Search for photos of Buff-collared Nightjar in the gallery