Papuan Nightjar vs Jamaican Poorwill
Eurostopodus papuensis compared with Siphonorhis americana
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | Papuan Nightjar | Jamaican Poorwill |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Eurostopodus papuensis | Siphonorhis americana |
| Order | Caprimulgiformes | Caprimulgiformes |
| Family | Caprimulgidae | Caprimulgidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Not Evaluated |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 37.9 cm (14.9 in) | 27.0 cm (10.6 in) |
| Weight | 80.5 g (2.84 oz) | 55.4 g (1.95 oz) |
| Diet | Hawks large flying insects, especially moths, at night over Papuan forest and savanna. | Caught flying insects at night in Jamaican dry forest; presumed extinct since 19th century. |
| Clutch Size | 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
Jamaican Poorwill
Possibly extinct; historically described as soft 'wheep-wheep'; whistled, purring call from dry limestone forest; no modern recordings exist
Geographic Range & Migration
Papuan Nightjar
Resident of savanna woodland, grass, and scrub in lowland New Guinea (Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea).
Jamaican Poorwill
Endemic to Jamaica; possibly extinct; known from historical specimens; no confirmed records since the 19th century.
Conservation Status
Papuan Nightjar
Jamaican Poorwill
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.
Jamaican Poorwill
Brown and rufous mottled above with dark vermiculations; pale buff below with dark barring; white throat patch in male; buff and dark barred tail; no white wing patches. Closely resembles …
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.
Jamaican Poorwill
A medium Caprimulgidae poorwill (~55 g) endemic to Jamaica; possibly extinct or extremely rare. Last confirmed record in 1860; reported subsequently but never verified. Inhabited dry limestone scrub forest. Cryptic mottled plumage. Presumed nocturnal insectivore. Not currently evaluated by IUCN.