Night swallows

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Night swallows
Long-tailed nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus)

Long-tailed nightjar ( Caprimulgus macrurus)

Systematics
Sub-stem : Vertebrates (vertebrata)
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Swallow-like (Caprimulgiformes)
Family : Night swallows
Scientific name
Caprimulgidae
Vigors , 1825

The night swallows (Caprimulgidae) are a family of birds from the order of the swallow-like (Caprimulgiformes).

They are related to several other families similar in appearance and way of life, such as the fat swallows (Steatornithidae) and the owl swallows (Podargidae), as well as with the sailors (Apodidae) and hummingbirds (Trochilidae).

As of 2014, the family contains around 100 species in 20 genera and, with the exception of the polar regions, is distributed worldwide. The goat milker ( Caprimulgus europaeus ) and the red-necked goat milker ( C. ruficollis ) are the only members of the family that breed in Europe. The North American night hawk ( Chordeiles minor ) is a rare stray visitor in Western Europe and the Azores .

features

Night swallows have a soft, mostly brownish, well camouflaging plumage. Both sexes look similar. In some species, the plumage of the males is more contrasting or the tail or the wings are longer. The hull is cylindrical and less elongated than that of the sailor. Head and eyes are relatively large; the beak is short but broad. Legs and claws are short.

Way of life

Almost all representatives of the nightjar are crepuscular and nocturnal flying insect hunters.

Danger

Little is known about the population and threat status of the various species, especially the tropical ones. However, it is believed that the Jamaican nightjar ( Siphonorhis americanus ), for which evidence has been lacking for over a hundred years, is already extinct. The Puerto Rican nightjar ( Antrostomus noctitherus ), believed to be extinct, was rediscovered in a small population in the 1980s and is considered critically endangered. The population of the Vaurie nightjar ( Caprimulgus centralasicus ), the Prigogine nightjar ( Caprimulgus prigoginei ) and the Nechisar nightjar ( Caprimulgus solala ) is also unclear .

Systematics

According to molecular genetic studies published in 2010, the division into the two subfamilies Caprimulginae and Chordeileinae (falcon nightjars) was abandoned. Four new groupings emerged. The genus Caprimulgus turned out to be polyphyletic. Hence, the Old World species of Caprimulgus were separated from those in the New World . The latter were summarized in the newly established genus Antrostomus . Some species of the genus Caprimulgus were added to other genera. Winkler and colleagues subdivide the nightjars into subfamilies, the Eurostopodinae for the basal clade and the Caprimulginae for the other genera.

Genera and species

Argus nightjar ( Eurostopodus argus )

Basal clade (subfamily Eurostopodinae)

The species of Eurostopus were often thought of as a separate family Eurostopodidae in the past. The relationships within the clade are not clear, so that these birds are also placed in the Caprimulgidae, with which they form a monophyletic group.

  • Lyncornis Gould 1838 - rebuilt for 2 species, formerly in Eurostopodus
    • Giant Nightjar ( Lyncornis macrotis , formerly Eurostopodus macrotis )
    • Temminck nightjar ( Lyncornis temminckii , formerly Eurostopodus temminckii )

Subfamily Caprimulginae

Old world clade

  • Gactornis Han, Robbins & Braun, 2010 - a kind

1. Newworldly clade

Mainly native to North and Central America and the Caribbean , this clade includes the New World species of Caprimulgus , which are now included in the re-established genus Antrostomus . In addition, there are the genera Siphonornis , Nyctiphrynus and the monotypical genus Phalaenoptis , the latter being at the transition between the genera Antrostomus and Nyctiphrynus .

2. Newworldly clade

Chordeiles used to be the nominotypical genus of the subfamily night falcons (Chordeileinae). The former genus Podager with the only species Podager nacunda was integrated into this genus.

3. Newworldly clade

This clade comprises 10 genera which, according to a proposal by Han et al. all could be merged into one genus.

  • Macropsalis - only one species
    • Hook- tailed nightjar ( Macropsalis forcipata , synonymized with Macropsalis creagra )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Richard O. Prum et al. A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing. Nature, October 7, 2015; doi: 10.1038 / nature15697
  2. ↑ a b c David W. Winkler, Shawn M. Billerman, Irby J. Lovette: Bird Families of the World, A Guide to the Spectacular Diversity of Birds. Lynx Edicions Publications, 2016, ISBN 978-84-941892-0-3 . Pages 81–83
  3. ↑ 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 : Nightjars (Caprimulgidae)  - album with pictures, videos and audio files