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Caprimulgiformes
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Caprimulgidae
Genus
Caprimulgus
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Madagascar Nightjar Caprimulgus madagascariensis Scientific name definitions

Nigel Cleere
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 1999

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

21–23 cm; male 37–43 g, female 45–51 g, unsexed 43–44 g. Sexually di­morphic. Upperparts greyish-brown streaked blackish-brown, generally no nuchal collar; lesser coverts greyish-brown speckled buffish and tawny, rest of wing-coverts greyish-brown, heavily spotted buff with brown ­centres; scapulars blackish-brown edged buff; whitish submoustachial stripe and small white patch on either side of lower throat; underparts greyish-brown thinly barred greyish-white, becoming buff barred brown on belly and flanks. Male has white spot on four ­outermost primaries and white tips to two outermost tail feathers; female has buff wing spots and smaller white tips to tail feathers. Iris dark brown, bill blackish, legs and feet dark brown. Paler and more variegated than Gactornis enarratus, with no nuchal collar, small white wing spots, and much broader white tips to two outermost tail feathers. Immature similar to adult female. Race aldabrensis is occasionally paler on crown and scapulars, with broader white tips to two outermost tail feathers.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

In the past, sometimes considered conspecific with C. asiaticus. Racial differences uncertain; form aldabrensis sometimes considered doubtfully distinct (1), and species may be better considered monotypic. Two subspecies tentatively recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Caprimulgus madagascariensis aldabrensis Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Aldabra.
SUBSPECIES

Caprimulgus madagascariensis madagascariensis Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Madagascar (including Nosy Boraha).

Distribution

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Habitat

All types of open or lightly wooded country: woodland, including partially or totally degraded areas, clearings, forest edges, savanna, heathland, scrubland, eucalyptus plantations, ­areas of afforestation; also in cultivated regions, near urban areas and in gardens. Tends to avoid dense forest. On Aldabra, open sandy hills, also casuarina woods with sparse understorey. Recorded from sea-level to 1800 m.

Movement

None documented. Probably sedentary.

Diet and Foraging

Feeds on grasshoppers, moths, cicadas and beetles. Forages by hawking around treetops, in open country or over water. When hunting, frequently glides with wings held above back. Usually forages alone, although large numbers may occur together where there is a plentiful food supply. On Aldabra, also hunts over sand dunes and around habitation.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song of male is a repetitive “tuk-tr-tr-tr-tr-tr”; occasionally gives “cop, cop, cop” notes, a soft cooing or a faint, ­wavering “huuu”. Sings from perches or ground, throughout night. Calls include loud, liquid “wa-pit” or “tyo” and muffled “chok” sounds.

Breeding

Breeds Aug to perhaps Oct in SW Madagascar, Oct–Nov in N Madagascar, and Sept–Dec on Aldabra. No nest, eggs laid usually on ground, often on leaf litter, and typically in open woodland or forest, or in clearing, apparently also on flat roof; on Aldabra, also on bare soil or gravel, often on open sandy hill, or beneath bush in clearing or alongside path in thick scrub. Clutch 2 eggs, elliptical, glossy white, blotched and spotted brownish-grey or blackish-grey; incubation probably by female during day, period not documented; adults threatened at nest-site perform defence display; chick semi-precocial, covered in brown and buff down, fledging period not documented.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Common and widespread throughout Madagascar, especially in E; in some regions in SE, vocalizations suggest densities of up to 6 birds per 0·5 km²; occurs in Ranomafana National Park, Berenty Reserve and Perinet Special Reserve. Not uncommon on Aldabra Atoll, where population of several hundred individuals may be present, occurring on most islands, including terrestrial areas as small as 400 m². In Madagascar, environmental damage does not appear to pose immediate threat, as species apparently adaptable and tolerant of disturbed habitats; on Aldabra, natural predators may have included Common Barn-owl (Tyto alba) in past, though that species now considered extinct there; introduced threats may include rats and domestic and feral cats.
Distribution of the Madagascar Nightjar - Range Map
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Distribution of the Madagascar Nightjar

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Cleere, N. (2020). Madagascar Nightjar (Caprimulgus madagascariensis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.madnig1.01
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