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Todd's Nightjar | Setopagis heterura
Todds nachtzwaluw | Chotacabras de Todd | Bacurau-de-todd
Todd's Nightjar is a small nightjar of Venezuela that is known in the guide area only as a rare bird in north-eastern Colombia. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of Little Nightjar or Anthony's Nightjar; differences in DNA, plumage and song support its status as a separate species.
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Voice
The song is an evenly pitched pik-you, gobble-gobble-gobble, given from the ground or a low perch. Other calls have not been described.
Recording: Marcelo Barreiros — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
18–21 cm, with a shorter tail than the other nightjars in its range. The male is grey with blackish and buff streaks on the upperparts, a narrow cinnamon collar on the hindneck, a white throat and a dark brown, finely barred breast. In flight white wing patches show, and most tail feathers have white tips. The female has a darker crown, a buff throat and no white in the tail.
Confusion species
Pauraque Nyctidromus albicollis is larger, with a longer tail showing much white in the male. White-tailed Nightjar Hydropsalis cayennensis has a longer tail with white outer feathers in the male. Little Nightjar Setopagis parvula is very similar to Todd's Nightjar, but occurs only in the south of the guide area.
Habitat
Edges of deciduous and semi-deciduous woodland, gallery forest, open woodland and suburban parks; it seems to prefer slightly hilly terrain. In Venezuela from sea level to about 1000 m, in Colombia usually lower. It hunts flying insects at night.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
In Colombia rare in the north-east, at the edge of the main range in Venezuela. Absent from Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in northern and central Venezuela, with a single record from Guyana and two from the far north of Brazil.
How and when to look
There is a chance only in dry woodland and along forest edges in north-eastern Colombia. At dusk the song gives the bird away.
Conservation status
Least Concern.
Scientific name
Setopagis heterura | Todd, 1915
Todd described the species in 1915 and placed it straight away in the genus where it still stands. The genus Setopagis was introduced in 1912 by Ridgway. The genus name comes from Greek sēs, 'moth', and pagis, 'trap', so 'moth trap'. The species name comes from Greek heteros, 'different', and oura, 'tail'. The specimen the first description was based on came from La Tigrera, Santa Marta, Colombia.