Goat milker (genus)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Goat milker
Goat milker (C. europaeus)

Goat milker ( C. europaeus )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Swallow-like (Caprimulgiformes)
Family : Nightjar (Caprimulgidae)
Subfamily : Caprimulginae
Genre : Goat milker
Scientific name
Caprimulgus
Linnaeus , 1758

The nightjar or Real Nightjars ( Caprimulgus ) are the most species-rich bird genus from the family of Nightjars (Caprimulgidae).

features

Night swallows are mostly thrush-sized twilight or nocturnal flying insect hunters. They usually have very long wings, a long tail, a very short beak - but whose beak is very wide - and very short feet. The middle toe is greatly elongated in many species and apparently serves as a cleaning claw .

distribution

Until 2010, the genus was considered to be distributed worldwide. With the exception of New Zealand and the offshore Pacific islands as well as the polar cold regions and most of Australia , Caprimulgus species have been described from all continents . However, according to molecular biological studies by Han, Robbins and Braun, the goat milkers of the New World were divided into several other genera according to their relationships. The majority of these former Caprimulgus species now belong to the genus Antrostomus , which was re-established for the former species of goat milkers from North and Central America, including the Caribbean islands.

Two species breed in Europe, the European goat milker ( Caprimulgus europaeus ) and the red-necked goat milker ( Caprimulgus ruficollis ). The Pharaoh's goat milker ( C. aegyptius ) and the Bajuda goat milker ( C. nubicus ) appear as rare wanderers in Southeast Europe .

Way of life

Their extremely nimble and almost silent flight can appear as if they dangle from a consecration to a raging falcon . With a few exceptions, the very soft plumage is inconspicuous and often very well adapted to the subsoil that the respective species visits during the day. The sexes are very similar to each other, but the males usually have more conspicuous, almost always white plumage features on the underside of the wing and on the outer control feathers of the tail.

Nest building is only rudimentary in some species; most species lay their eggs on unprepared, but dry and protected subsoil.

All Palearctic and some Nearctic species are migratory birds. Some Holarctic or altitude-dwelling species can survive unfavorable weather-related food shortages in a torpid state lasting several days or even several weeks .

Danger

Little is known about the population and threatened status of many of these crepuscular and nocturnal birds. The population of the Vaurie nightjar ( Caprimulgus centralasicus ), the Prigogine nightjar ( Caprimulgus prigoginei ) and the Nechisar nightjar ( Caprimulgus solala ), of which there are hardly any secured field observations , but only specimen copies in natural history collections are available.

species

The species of Caprimulgus that remained after the 2010 revision are all from the Old World , mainly from Africa and Asia :

The genus Antrostomus was established for a part of the New World milker species . The Puerto Rican nightjar ( Antrostomus noctitherus ), believed to be extinct, was rediscovered in a small population in the 1980s and is considered critically endangered.

In addition, a new monotypical genus was created:

There were also two species in the new genus Nyctipolis

To Nyctidromus it was put:

To Elothreptus came:

In contrast to Setopagis :

To Hydropsalis are counted:

The mirror nightjar is now in the genus Systellura :

The bearded night swallow ( Eurostopodus mystacalis , formerly Caprimulgus mystacalis ) is now part of the genus Eurostopodus .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Kin-Lan Han, Mark B. Robbins & Michael J. Braun: A multi-gene estimate of phylogeny in the nightjars and nighthawks (Caprimulgidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 55, 2, pp. 443-453, May 2010

literature

  • DT Holyoak: Nightjars and their Allies. Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-19-854987-3 .
  • Christopher M. Perrins (Ed.): The FSVO encyclopedia birds of the world. Translated from the English by Einhard Bezzel. BLV, Munich / Vienna / Zurich 2004, ISBN 978-3-405-16682-3 (Title of the original English edition: The New Encyclopedia Of Birds. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2003).

Web links

Commons : Goat Milker ( Caprimulgus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files