Nechisar Nightjar Caprimulgus solala Scientific name definitions

Insufficient information; species is known from a single wing taken from a dead individual on a road in Nechisar Plains, in S Ethiopia.

No information.

VULNERABLE. Restricted-range species: present in South Ethiopian Highlands EBA. Known from a single wing salvaged from a road corpse on the Nechisar Plains in S Ethiopia. Distribution unknown, but this species is considered unlikely to be widespread or common. Not recorded during c. 200 hours of nocturnal surveys in the area, despite field observations of over 100 individuals of four other nightjar species (3 Butchart, S. H. M. (2007). Birds to find: a review of ‘lost’, obscure and poorly known African bird species. Bulletin of the African Bird Club 14(2):139–157. Close ). Subsequent searches have proved similarly unproductive, although few birds have been examined in the hand (3 Butchart, S. H. M. (2007). Birds to find: a review of ‘lost’, obscure and poorly known African bird species. Bulletin of the African Bird Club 14(2):139–157. Close ). A purported 2009 sighting has not been published (4 Cleere, N. (2010). Nightjars, Potoos, Frogmouths, Oilbird and Owlet-nightjars of the World. WildGuides, Old Basing, UK. Close , 5 Spottiswoode, C.N. (2010). Finding southern Ethiopia's endemic birds. Bull. African Bird Club. 17(1): 106–113. Close ) BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Caprimulgus solala. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 23/06/2015. . The dead type specimen was found in a treeless area of gently undulating plains that cover 270 km² (3 Butchart, S. H. M. (2007). Birds to find: a review of ‘lost’, obscure and poorly known African bird species. Bulletin of the African Bird Club 14(2):139–157. Close ). These plains lie within Nechisar National Park (IUCN Cat. II; 514 km²), but future of this is threatened by heavy grazing by domestic stock, clearance of trees for fuelwood and building, and fires. A management programme for the park, including plans for resettlement of illegal settlers, is no longer operational. Further survey work needed in order to obtain information on its true status. Correctly identifying the species will be challenging, and will require sound-recordings or photographs.