Family Nightjars (Caprimulgidae)
Least Concern
Montane Nightjar (Caprimulgus poliocephalus)
Taxonomy
French: Engoulevent d’Abyssinie German: Höhennachtschwalbe Spanish: Chotacabras montano
Other common names:
Rwenzori Nightjar (ruwenzorii),
Benguela Nightjar (koesteri),
Abyssinian Nightjar (poliocephalus)
Taxonomy:
Caprimulgus poliocephalus
Rüppell
, 1840,Kulla, Ethiopia
.
Subspecies and Distribution
C. p. poliocephalus
Rüppell, 1840 – Abyssinian Nightjar – SW Saudi Arabia and NW Yemen, discontinuously through Eritrea#R, C Ethiopia to NE Uganda and N Tanzania.
C. p. ruwenzorii
Ogilvie-Grant, 1909 – Montane Nightjar – SW Uganda to E DRCongo.
C. p. koesteri
Neumann, 1931 – W Angola.
C. p. guttifer
Grote, 1921 – SW Tanzania, N Malawi and NE Zambia; separate population in NE Tanzania.
Descriptive notes
22–24 cm; male 42–55 g, female 41–57 g, by subspecies 37–50 g (nominate), 34·5–55 g (ruwenzorii), 40–50·6 g (... read more
Voice
Song of male is a double-noted whistle, “peuu-eee, pe-uu-uu-uu”, first note undulating... read more
Habitat
Mainly found in interior and at edges of all types of montane woodland and forest, including ... read more
Food and feeding
Feeds on moths, beetles, termites and grasshoppers; 15 stomachs of ruwenzorii contained Lepidoptera (in nine) and Coleoptera (in... read more
Breeding
Poorly documented. Breeds possibly Mar–May in Saudi Arabia, Jan and May in Ethiopia, and Sept–Jan in Sudan, Uganda, Kenya (also... read more
Movements
None documented throughout African range and probably sedentary, although considered to be partial... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Locally common throughout range. Widespread and locally common along W side of Asir Mts, SW Saudi Arabia, where maximum of 16 singing birds along... read more
Closely related to C. pectoralis, especially its race nigriscapularis. Race ruwenzorii often treated as a separate species (as in HBW), and guttifer and koesteri have likewise been proposed as two separate species, but the case for lumping is strong#R#R#R#R. Specimens in NHMUK, including the type of ruwenzorii plus poliocephalus, guttifer and koesteri, indicate that there is a N–S stepped cline in quantity of white on outer rectrices, from all white (poliocephalus) to white with small dark base (ruwenzorii) to half-dark/half-white or, in some cases, two-thirds dark/one-third white (guttifer and koesteri); moreover, the distinctiveness of vocalizations is weak#R. Population in Saudi Arabia possibly racially distinct; requires further study. Four subspecies currently recognized.