Common Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis)

Identification & Behavior: ~27 cm (11 in). The Common Pauraque has ornate upperparts consisting of black and buff scapulars and black and buff spots and mottles on the wing coverts. The loral area and cheeks are rufous with a gray top of the head. The male has white wing bands across the primary flight feathers and white and brown tail feathers. The female has brown wing bands across the primary flight feathers and white tail tips. The tail in both sexes is long and protrudes well beyond the wing tips. The common Pauraque favors forest edges and semi-open habitats. It is similar to the Ladder-tailed Nightjar, which almost always is found at the edges of bodies of water. Also, see Scrub Nightjar.

Status: The Common Pauraque is common in the Amazonian lowlands where it is known to range up to 1200 m along the foothill of the Andes. It is also fairly common in the Marañon Valley and the edges of humid and semi-deciduous forest in extreme northwest Peru in Tumbes. The common Pauraque also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Chotacabras Común.

Sub-species: Common Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis albicollis), J. F. Gmelin, 1789.

Meaning of Name: Nyctidromus: Gr. Nukti, nuktos= night and dromos= racer. albicollis: L. albus= white and collis= necked, throated.

See more of the Family Caprimulgidae