Heinrich's Nightjar vs Brown Nightjar
Eurostopodus diabolicus compared with Veles binotatus
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Heinrich's Nightjar | Brown Nightjar |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Eurostopodus diabolicus | Veles binotatus |
| Order | Caprimulgiformes | Caprimulgiformes |
| Family | Caprimulgidae | Caprimulgidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 39.9 cm (15.7 in) | 29.8 cm (11.7 in) |
| Weight | 104.0 g (3.67 oz) | 63.0 g (2.22 oz) |
| Diet | Nocturnal aerial insectivore; catches moths and beetles in flight over Sulawesi forest; poorly known. | Nocturnal aerial insectivore; catches moths and flying insects over West and Central African forest. |
| Clutch Size | 1 | -- |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Heinrich's Nightjar
Haunting, hollow 'ku-WOO' repeated rhythmically; deep resonant quality; distinctive mournful whistle carrying through Sulawesi forest at night
Brown Nightjar
Repeated 'pew-pew' or 'puu-puu'; mellow, hollow whistle from African rainforest; calls from dense canopy at night; soft and ventriloquial; alarm a sharp 'chik'
Geographic Range & Migration
Heinrich's Nightjar
Endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia; resident of montane forest; extremely rare and poorly known, with very few records.
Brown Nightjar
Resident of lowland and submontane forest edge and clearings in West and Central Africa from Sierra Leone and Liberia east to DR Congo and Uganda.
Conservation Status
Heinrich's Nightjar
Brown Nightjar
How to Tell Them Apart
Heinrich's Nightjar
Rufous-brown and dark brown mottled with buff vermiculations; large pale buff throat patch; pale buff supercilium; no white wing markings; tail darkly barred brown and buff. Poorly known; Sulawesi endemic.
Brown Nightjar
Uniform dark rufous-brown with fine dark vermiculations; small pale buff wing spots; no white throat patch; no white tail markings; monotypic; very cryptic plumage matched to dark rainforest bark; West …
About These Birds
Heinrich's Nightjar
A medium Caprimulgidae nightjar (~104 g) endemic to the forest and forest-edge habitats of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Cryptically patterned brown-and-buff. Nocturnal insectivore; catches moths and beetles in aerial sallies. Little studied and rarely encountered in the field. Least Concern within its Sulawesi range.
Brown Nightjar
A medium-small Caprimulgidae nightjar (~63 g) of lowland and secondary forest in equatorial West Africa from Sierra Leone to Uganda. Uniformly dark brown above with a small white throat spot; plain compared with many nightjars. Nocturnal insectivore of forest understorey. Least Concern in its equatorial forest range.