- Ladder-tailed Nightjar
Taxobox
name = Ladder-tailed Nightjar
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum =Animalia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Aves
ordo =Caprimulgiformes
familia =Caprimulgidae
genus = "Hydropsalis "
species = "H. climacocerca"
binomial = "Hydropsalis climacocerca"
binomial_authority = (Tschudi, 1844)
synonyms = The Ladder-tailed Nightjar ("Hydropsalis climacocerca") is a species ofbird in theCaprimulgidae family, thenightjar s. It is one of two species in the genus,Hydropsalis .It is found in the Amazon Basin of
Brazil with theGuianas ,Guyana ,Suriname ,French Guiana , and also AmazonianColombia ,Ecuador ,Peru andBolivia ; it is also inVenezuela .Its naturalhabitat s are subtropical or tropical moistshrubland ,river s, and freshwaterlake s.This bird is highly camouflaged and has the colors of 'ground cover', as do most of the nightjars. The colors are broken with white patches, grays, both dark, and light, and some brown, especially around the neck and head. Many of the nightjar species also have the distraction display, which helps lead unwary predators farther distances from the nest, young, or eggs.
As a species that hunts ariborne
insect s, etc at night, its large eyes are noteworthy; a large wide mouth also goes along with this feeding strategy.Distribution
Amazon Basin, Guianas and upper Orinoco River Basin
The Ladder-tailed Nightjar is found in all regions of the
Amazon Basin , and in the northeast theGuiana Shield and the Guianan countries; its range does not extend east of theAmazon River outlet, (the island:Ilha de Marajo ). At this same outlet, in the region of theXingu River confluence, the range extends southward and is in the lower two-thirds of the drainage of this north-flowing river.In the west the species range is adjacent to the
Andes foothills. In the north, the range extends into southeastern Venezuela, and only the upper third of the Caribbean north-flowingOrinoco River drainage, the area of the eastern Orinoco River Basin and uplands bordering western Guyana.In the very headwaters of the southern Amazon Basin, the "upstream half of the river drainages", both in the southeast and southwest, the range overlaps with its sister "Hydropsalis" species, the
Scissor-tailed Nightjar , which ranges into southeast Brazil through thecaatinga ,cerrado , andpantanal south intoArgentina . The two species cover all ofSouth America east of the Andes cordillera from central Argentina to the Caribbean coast; the exception is a small region centered southeast of the Amazon Basin in the vicinity ofMaranhão state Brazil.References
* BirdLife International 2004. [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/48697/all Hydropsalis climacocerca] . [http://www.iucnredlist.org 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. ] Downloaded on 24 July 2007.
External links
* [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=ladder-tailed+nightjar&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Ladder-tailed Nightjar photo gallery] VIREO [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/species_image.php?species=Hydropsalis+climacocerca Photo-High Res-(Close-up)]
* [http://www.pbase.com/hophopkins/image/39975327 Photo-High Res] ; [http://www.pbase.com/hophopkins/ecuador_birds&page=all Article] pbase.com
* [http://www.ib.usp.br/ceo/images/hyd_clim.jpgPhoto-High Res-(Night photo: Spot-lighted eyes)] ; [http://www.ib.usp.br/ceo/imag_sons/fvcaprim.htm Article] ib.usp.br—"Caprimulgidae"
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