Plain nightjar


The plain nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae.
It breeds in the southern Sahel, Southern Sudan, the Horn of Africa and the southwestern Arabian Peninsula. It migrates to lower latitudes - including central Congo and northern Tanzania. A rather plain looking nightjar with grey-brown, brown, and rufous morphs. Males have white spots on primaries, large white corners to tail, and no white on the throat Females have buffy-brown wing spots, and no white on the tail.

Conservation Status

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion. The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion. The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion. For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa and south-western Arabian Peninsula.
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania
Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.
Three subspecies are recognised by some authorities: C. i. inornatus, C. i. malbranti, C. i. ludovicianus

Habitat

Thornscrub.