Tschudi’s Nightjar (Systellura decussata)

Identification & Behavior: ~22 cm (8.6 in). The Tschudi’s Nightjar is overall sandy gray with apparently variable shades and plumage patterns. It has an intricate pattern of vermiculation, spots, and streaks in shades of gray, brown, buff, and whitish. It shows a complete or almost complete collar, which is mostly pale with shades of buff or rufous on the hind neck. The male has white webbings on roughly half of the outer tail feathers and white wing bands. The female has a similar tail and wing markings but these are brown and reduced. It favors open habitats interspersed with scrub. It is often confused with the similar Lesser Nighthawk but is distinguished by a collar, tail longer than the folded wings when perched, and by not having a white or buff throat of a Lesser Nighthawk.

Status: The Tschudi’s Nightjar is uncommon on the coastal plain and foothill of the west slope of the Andes at elevations of up to 1300 m. It also occurs in Ch.

Name in Spanish: Chotacabras de Tschudi

Sub-species: Tschudi’s Nightjar (Systellura decussatus), Tschudi, 1844. W Peru and extreme N Chile (Arica and Tarapacá S to Quillagua).

Meaning of Name: Systellura: Gr. Sustellō= to shorten and oura= tail. Tschudi: In honor of Johann Jakob Baron von Tschudi (1818-1889) Swiss explorer, collector in Peru 1838-1842.

See more of the Family Caprimulgidae