Sykes's Nightjar Caprimulgus mahrattensis Scientific name definitions

22–24 cm (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); male 58 g, female 56 g (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Sexually dimorphic, though not greatly so. Upperparts sandy-grey, lightly spotted blackish brown, with indistinct buffish nuchal collar; wing-coverts sandy-grey, streaked and vermiculated blackish brown and boldly spotted buff and pale buff, no scapular pattern; whitish submoustachial stripe and white throat patch; underparts sandy-grey spotted buff, barred brown, becoming buff barred brown on belly and flanks. Both sexes have large white spot on three outermost primaries, in female smaller and sometimes washed with buff; male has broad white tips to two outermost tail feathers, female having buffish-white tips. Iris dark brown, bill dark brown, legs and feet pale fleshy-brown. Smaller than C. aegyptius, which generally lacks white wing spots, although underwings are white; male of that species has narrow buffish-white tips to two outermost tail feathers, female having buffish tips. Present species is plainer and sandier than C. europaeus, with spots (not streaks) on crown and has largely unfeathered tarsi (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); the two species are unlikely to be found syntopically during the breeding season (2 Roberts, T. and King, B. (2005). The call of Sykes’s Nightjar Caprimulgus mahrattensis. Forktail. 21: 166. Close ). Juvenile paler and plainer than adult.

SE Iran, S Afghanistan, Pakistan and NW India. Winters in W, N & C India.

Mainly semi-deserts with scattered thorn scrub; also dry stony scrubland, gravel or clay plains, flat salty ground with tamarisks, and stony wasteland. Occasionally found in dry hilly areas with rocky outcrops, and sparsely vegetated sand dunes in deserts. Tends to avoid cultivation or irrigated areas (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Lowland species, recorded from sea-level to 500 m.

Poorly known. Sedentary and partially migratory; perhaps those populations in hills being more inclined to move post-breeding (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Considered to be resident in SE Iran (recent records dated Feb, Apr–May, Nov) (3 Scott, D.A. (2008). Rare birds in Iran in the late 19647s and 19747s. Podoces. 3(1–2): 1–30. Close ). After breeding season, disperses widely and winters throughout W & C India , where recorded from Rajasthan, Kutch, N Gujarat, Saurashtra, W Khandesh, Deccan and Konkan S to N Mysore. Winter-only populations (e.g. in NW India) begin to return to breeding areas in Feb (4 Tiwari, J.K. and Dadu, M. (2009). Nesting .of Sykes's Nightjar Caprimulgus mahrattensis in the Great Rann of Kachchh, Gujarat, India. Indian Birds. 5(5): 151–152. Close ). However, degree to which population disperses might easily be overestimated due to inconspicuous nature when not singing (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Recorded once on Arabian Peninsula, in Oman, in Jan (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Feeds on moths, beetles and other insects up to 2 cm long (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Foraging flight agile and buoyant, and hunts low over open country, including swamps.

Song of male is an evenly pitched churr given from ground, mainly at dusk and dawn, similar to but softer than song of C. europaeus, carrying approximately half distance of latter, and lacks two-tone variations (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); given in bouts lasting between 1–2 seconds and 3–4 minutes (2 Roberts, T. and King, B. (2005). The call of Sykes’s Nightjar Caprimulgus mahrattensis. Forktail. 21: 166. Close ). Individual notes roughly equal in pitch and rate, c. 0·65–1·35 kHz and c. 34 notes/second, as opposed to the slower songs of C. europaeus which are given at rate of c. 26 notes/second at 1·0–2·5 kHz, while faster notes are given at rate of c. 44 notes/second over 1·0–2·2 kHz (2 Roberts, T. and King, B. (2005). The call of Sykes’s Nightjar Caprimulgus mahrattensis. Forktail. 21: 166. Close ). Calls include soft, chuckling “chuk-chuk” or “cluk-cluk” notes, when flushed and also during display; these latter are lower-pitched than analagous vocalization of C. europaeus (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Mechanical wing-clapping sounds made by male during display flights (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Breeds Feb–Aug (mainly Mar–May) in Pakistan and Mar–May in NW India (Punjab and Gujarat) (4 Tiwari, J.K. and Dadu, M. (2009). Nesting .of Sykes's Nightjar Caprimulgus mahrattensis in the Great Rann of Kachchh, Gujarat, India. Indian Birds. 5(5): 151–152. Close ); no data from other regions. Possibly semi-colonial at times, at least in Pakistan (5 Roberts, T. J. (1991). The Birds of Pakistan. Volume 1. Non-Passeriformes. Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan. Close ). Nest-site in full sunlight, or sheltered beneath clump of grass or small bush, e.g. tamarisk or bramble; no nest, eggs laid on bare, stony or salt-encrusted ground. Clutch two eggs, elliptical, white (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) or greyish white, densely smeared and blotched grey or brownish grey (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), size 25·5–30·5 mm × 19·6–22 mm (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); incubation usually (but perhaps not exclusively) (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ) by female , period c. 17–18 days; chick semi-precocial, covered in grey and black speckled down.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Most habitats in which species occurs are unlikely to be subject to substantial human influence in near future (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Locally common in many regions within breeding range, widely but sparsely distributed in winter. Scarce in Iran, where known from Gandu (Bahu-Kalat) Protected Area (3 Scott, D.A. (2008). Rare birds in Iran in the late 19647s and 19747s. Podoces. 3(1–2): 1–30. Close ). Recently confirmed to breed in NW India, in Punjab and Gujarat (4 Tiwari, J.K. and Dadu, M. (2009). Nesting .of Sykes's Nightjar Caprimulgus mahrattensis in the Great Rann of Kachchh, Gujarat, India. Indian Birds. 5(5): 151–152. Close ). Widespread and common in Pakistan, where mainly resident, but breeding visitor only to foothills of Salt Range, Thal and lower Kurram Valley. Present in Khirtar National Park, 80 km NW of Karachi. At least formerly common in Afghanistan, but considered to be uncommon in Punjab (1 Holyoak, D. T. (2001). Nightjars and Their Allies: The Caprimulgiformes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).