Spotted Nightjar vs Scissor-tailed Nightjar

Eurostopodus argus مقارنةً بـ Hydropsalis torquata

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Side-by-Side Comparison

السمة Spotted Nightjar Scissor-tailed Nightjar
الاسم العلمي Eurostopodus argus Hydropsalis torquata
الرتبة Caprimulgiformes Caprimulgiformes
الفصيلة Caprimulgidae Caprimulgidae
حالة الحفاظ Least Concern Least Concern
الطول
طول الجناح 42,7 cm (16.8 in) 36,8 cm (14.5 in)
الوزن 102,5 g (3.62 oz) 54,625 g (1.93 oz)
النظام الغذائي Aerial insectivore; hawks large moths, beetles, and flying insects at dusk and dawn over Australian … Catches moths, beetles, and flying insects in aerial sallies at night over South American savanna.
عدد البيض في الوضع 1 2
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

الموائل المشتركة

Spotted Nightjar only

Scissor-tailed Nightjar only

بلا

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Song & Call Comparison

Spotted Nightjar

الغناء

Loud churring 'good-lord-deliver-us' repeated at dusk; melodic bubbling quality; also emits hollow 'cow-cow-cow' series and soft frog-like croaking

Scissor-tailed Nightjar

الغناء

Loud, clear churring 'quurrr'; repetitive at moderate pitch; calls from open cerrado at dusk; males call persistently from prominent perches; alarm a sharp 'chek'

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Geographic Range & Migration

Spotted Nightjar

Resident and partial migrant of open woodland, grassland, and scrub across mainland Australia and migrating to New Guinea and Indonesia in winter.

Scissor-tailed Nightjar

Resident of open savanna, cerrado, and scrub from Colombia and Venezuela south through Brazil to Bolivia and northern Argentina.

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حالة الحفاظ

Least Concern

Spotted Nightjar

Least Concern

Scissor-tailed Nightjar

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How to Tell Them Apart

Spotted Nightjar

الريش

Cryptically mottled grey-brown, rufous, and black with intricate vermiculations; distinctive large white spots on wing coverts; white throat patch; no white in wings or tail. Sexes similar with slight pattern …

Scissor-tailed Nightjar

الريش

Male with enormously elongated outer tail feathers to 25 cm forming scissors in flight; brown and buff mottled body; white throat; white wing spots. Female brown mottled with normal tail …

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About These Birds

Spotted Nightjar

A medium Caprimulgidae nightjar (~103 g) of open woodland, spinifex grassland, and rocky ridges across mainland Australia. Intricately spotted and barred brown, grey, and buff. Cryptic by day on the ground among leaf litter. Crepuscular and nocturnal; feeds on flying insects caught in aerial pursuit. Least Concern.

Scissor-tailed Nightjar

A medium Caprimulgidae nightjar (~55 g) of open woodland, cerrado, and grassland in eastern and central South America. Males possess spectacularly long scissor-like outer tail feathers. Common around cattle pastures and agricultural land. Feeds on large moths and beetles at night. Least Concern across its broad range.

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