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Swallow-tailed Nightjar | Uropsalis segmentata
Vorkstaartnachtzwaluw | Chotacabras golondrina | Bacurau-rabo-de-andorinha
The Swallow-tailed Nightjar is a dark nightjar of high montane forest in the Andes. The male has extremely elongated outer tail feathers that form a long, narrow fork, which gives the species its name. It lives higher than any other long-tailed nightjar in the guide area.
Voice
The song, given from the ground, is a vibrating, sliding whistle that first rises and then falls. Also a liquid, rising pwip and, when agitated, a soft, stuttering whistle.
Recording: Niels Krabbe — CC BY-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
Female about 22–23 cm; male with tail feathers up to about 66 cm. Both sexes are dark brown to blackish, densely marked with rufous and buff spots, with a rufous nuchal collar that shows mainly on the sides and back of the neck. Wings brown to greyish brown with rufous spots, without a white wing band. In the male the outer tail feathers are greatly elongated, with white along the outer edge; in birds from Peru and Bolivia (subspecies kalinowskii) the tail is somewhat shorter and the white is barred. The female has a short, less graduated tail.
Confusion species
Lyre-tailed Nightjar Uropsalis lyra lives lower, in montane forest between about 1000 and 2500 m; the male has even longer, lyre-shaped tail feathers with white tips. Band-winged Nightjar Systellura longirostris also lives high, but has a white or buff band across the primaries and a short tail. Rufous-bellied Nighthawk Lurocalis rufiventris has a short tail and a rufous belly, and hunts high above the forest.
Habitat
Mainly elfin forest at the treeline, also the edges of humid montane forest and openings with bamboo, grass or shrubs, grading into páramo. In Colombia about 2500–3500 m, in Ecuador mostly 2500–3200 m (locally down to 2100 m), in Peru 2000–3600 m and in Bolivia 2000–3400 m. At dusk it hunts flying insects in short sallies from the ground or a low perch. The egg is laid on the ground.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
In Colombia in the Central and Eastern Andes. In Ecuador along the whole eastern slope and, in the north, also on the western slope. In Peru on the eastern slope over most of the country and in the north-west on the western slope. In Bolivia on the eastern slope. Absent from the lowlands and the Galápagos. Does not occur outside the guide area.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
At dusk, stand at the edge of elfin forest near the treeline, along a road or trail to the páramo; the male can be recognised in flight by its long tail, and the song is heard shortly after sunset.
Conservation status
Least Concern. The species lives in a narrow elevational band and locally depends on undisturbed elfin forest and forest edges near the treeline.
Scientific name
Uropsalis segmentata | (Cassin, 1849)
Cassin described the species in 1849 as Hydropsalis segmentatus; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Uropsalis was introduced in 1915 by Miller. The genus name combines Greek oura, 'tail', with psalis, 'pair of scissors' or 'shears', after the long forked tail of the males. The species name is Latin segmentatus, 'ornamented with borders, trimmed with brocade', from segmenta, 'borders of purple or gold'; probably after the barred long tail feathers. The specimen the first description was based on came from Bogotá, Colombia.