Standard-winged Nightjar
Encyclopedia
The Standard-winged Nightjar, Macrodipteryx longipennis, is a bird
in the nightjar
family.
from Senegal
east to Ethiopia
. It is found in dry savannah habitats, with some scrub.
When roosting on the ground during the day, this medium-sized (20–23 cm long) nightjar is mainly variegated grey, with a browner collar.
It is a shadowy form with easy, silent moth
-like flight; this nightjar is relatively short-tailed, and lacks white in the wings or tail. The song is a churring trill.
s and beetle
s. It flies at dusk, most often at sundown, and can sometimes be seen with Flying Foxes.
No nest is made; the two elongated and elliptical eggs are placed upon the bare ground.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the nightjar
Nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...
family.
Distribution and habitat
It is a resident breeder in AfricaAfrica
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
from Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
east to Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. It is found in dry savannah habitats, with some scrub.
Description
The adult male has a bizarre wing ornament during the breeding season, with a broad central flight feather on each wing elongated to 38 cm, much longer than the bird's body. 20 cm or more of this is bare shaft. In normal flight, these feathers trail behind, but in display flight they are raised vertically like standards. Outside the breeding season, there are no plumage distinctions between the male and female.When roosting on the ground during the day, this medium-sized (20–23 cm long) nightjar is mainly variegated grey, with a browner collar.
It is a shadowy form with easy, silent moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
-like flight; this nightjar is relatively short-tailed, and lacks white in the wings or tail. The song is a churring trill.
Behaviour
Like other nightjars, the Standard-winged Nightjar feeds on insects in flight, the huge gape opening wide for mothMoth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s and beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s. It flies at dusk, most often at sundown, and can sometimes be seen with Flying Foxes.
No nest is made; the two elongated and elliptical eggs are placed upon the bare ground.