Papuan Nightjar vs Blackish Nightjar
Eurostopodus papuensis compared with Nyctipolus nigrescens
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Papuan Nightjar | Blackish Nightjar |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Eurostopodus papuensis | Nyctipolus nigrescens |
| Order | Caprimulgiformes | Caprimulgiformes |
| Family | Caprimulgidae | Caprimulgidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 37.9 cm (14.9 in) | 27.6 cm (10.9 in) |
| Weight | 80.5 g (2.84 oz) | 35.625 g (1.26 oz) |
| Diet | Hawks large flying insects, especially moths, at night over Papuan forest and savanna. | Nocturnal aerial insectivore; catches moths and small beetles in flight over South American forest and … |
| Clutch Size | 1 | 1 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
Song & Call Comparison
Papuan Nightjar
Churring, repetitive nocturnal call; soft bubbling trill; melodic series of hollow notes; calls from low perch or ground in New Guinea lowland forest
Blackish Nightjar
Soft, purring 'churr' at low volume; gentle repetitive trill from rocky substrate; calls modestly at dusk; alarm a sharp 'chek'; blends with dark rocky habitat
Geographic Range & Migration
Papuan Nightjar
Resident of savanna woodland, grass, and scrub in lowland New Guinea (Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea).
Blackish Nightjar
Resident of rocky outcrops, open woodland, and savanna in northern South America from Venezuela and the Guianas to Colombia and northern Brazil.
Conservation Status
Papuan Nightjar
Blackish Nightjar
How to Tell Them Apart
Papuan Nightjar
Dark grey-brown finely vermiculated with buff and black; pale buff and rufous throat patch; pale supercilium; no white wing patches; tail barred brown and buff; cryptically patterned bark-mimicking plumage.
Blackish Nightjar
Uniformly dark sooty-brown with fine buff and rufous vermiculations; pale buff throat patch; no white wing patches or tail spots; one of the darkest nightjars; closely resembles dark rocky substrates …
About These Birds
Papuan Nightjar
A small Caprimulgidae nightjar (~81 g) of lowland savanna, grassland, and forest edges across the southern lowlands of New Guinea. Cryptic buff-and-brown plumage; white-spotted wings visible in flight. Nocturnal aerial insectivore. Commonly heard at night but rarely seen by day. Least Concern.
Blackish Nightjar
A small, very dark Caprimulgidae nightjar (~36 g) of rocky outcrops and boulder-strewn habitat in northern South America from Venezuela to northeastern Brazil. Dark sooty-brown plumage blends with dark rocks. Roosts motionless on stones by day. Hunts small insects at night. Least Concern in its rocky habitat.