brown bars. H. c. albicauda is similar to the nominate, but the male's belly has a strong buff tinge and the female's underparts are dark brownish buff. H. c. aperta has a longer wing and tail than the nominate. It is similar to albicauda though the female's upper- and underparts are darker. H. c. insularis is paler than the nominate and possibly smaller. Its upperparts, especially the crown, are buffier. H. c. leopetes is similar to the nominate, but the buff of its collar and other markings is richer. The male's underparts are darker and the female's upperparts paler. H. c. manati is darker than the nominate and has less white in the tail. The call is "a high, thin pt-cheeeeeeeee, the second note a long-drawn-out, rising whistle that falls slightly at end." The male sings from dusk well into the night during breeding season. Calls include "a scratchy wheer in flight" and "a thin tic-tic" when flushed from a roost. Distribution and habitat It is found in the "ABC Islands", Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Martinique, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. The white-tailed nightjar is a bird of open landscapes such as savanna, pastures, scrubby grasslands, and hillsides with scattered bushes and thickets. Behavior and ecology Feeding The white-tailed nightjar is nocturnal. It mostly forages by sallying from the ground or perches but also will hunt in flight low over open grasslands. Its diet is insects but is not known in detail. It roosts on the ground during the day. Breeding The white-tailed nightjar's breeding seasons have not been well defined but are known to vary across its range. Males make a wing-clapping display. The clutch size is two; the eggs are laid directly on the ground and only the female incubates them. Status The IUCN has assessed the white-tailed nightjar as being of Least Concern. It has a large range and large population, though the latter is believed to be decreasing. No specific threats have been identified except on Martinique, where habitat destruction and introduced predators are cause for concern. References white-tailed nightjar white-tailed nightjar Birds of Costa Rica Birds of Panama Birds of the Netherlands Antilles Birds of the Caribbean Birds of Barbados Birds of Colombia Birds of Venezuela Birds of Trinidad and Tobago Birds of the Guianas white-tailed nightjar white-tailed nightjar Taxonomy articles created by Polbot