- Chordeiles nacunda
Podager nacunda
Identification
White throat patch and, in flight, white belly and flanks and very distinctive white bands on the wings. The male has white tips on its outer tail feathers.
Distribution
The Nacunda Nighthawk is found in South America east of the Andes in two groups: Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas and extreme north of Brazil; and south of the Amazon to central Argentina.
Taxonomy
Two subspecies are recognized[1]:
- C. n. minor
- C. n. nacunda
This species was recently transferred from the genus Podager to Chordeiles. In consequence a new name is needed for one of the subspecies, P. n. minor would become Chordeiles nacunda coryi.
Habitat
Habitats include forest edges, river edges, savanna and marshes, often where these are surrounded by drier, open country.
Behaviour
Mainly nocturnal, sometimes crepuscular. In flight sometimes glides on wings raised in a dihedral, and often foraging in groups. Spends the day on the ground on for example sand banks, sometimes in quite large groups.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- [http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=181553 Birdforum thread discussing the proposal to place this species in genus Chordeiles