Birds · Caprimulgiformes · Caprimulgidae
Puerto Rican Nightjar
Antrostomus noctitherus
It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary
A small nightjar with plumage mottled in black, brown and grey that camouflages it as it rests on the leaf litter. Males have a black throat with a fine horizontal white line and white patches on the underside of the tail, visible in flight; in females those areas are cream rather than white. It has large, very black eyes, a short grey bill and stiff bristles around the bill for catching insects in flight.
Weight
39 g – 41 g
Size
22 cm – 23 cm
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
In pairs
Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Estimated population
1,400-2,000 mature individuals, roughly the same figure as in 1984
Fun facts
- It was described in 1916 from bones found in a cave and from a single skin specimen taken in 1888, and was given up for extinct until it was seen alive in 1961.
- Its current population, of 1,400 to 2,000 birds, is roughly the same as was estimated in 1984.
- Its song consists of rapid whip-like notes, which is where its English name, Puerto Rican whip-poor-will, comes from.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Dry coastal scrub forest in localised parts of south-western Puerto Rico, above all in the Guánica State Forest and its surroundings. It breeds mainly in subtropical dry forest (60% of the squares), and also in subtropical moist forest at higher altitudes
- Birth weight
- Semi-altricial: born covered in down and with its eyes open
- Size at birth
- Semi-altricial: covered in cryptic down on hatching
- Sexual maturity
- 1 year
- Gestation / incubation
- 18-20 days. The chicks fledge two weeks after hatching
- Litter / clutch size
- 1-2 pale brown eggs speckled with darker markings, laid directly on a thick layer of leaf litter, often under a low shrub. It breeds from December to August, with peak activity in May
Sources consulted: IUCN Red List 2016 (BirdLife International, e.T22689809A93248623); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (perfil de especie); Vilella 1995, Bird Conservation International 5; González 2010; Cleere y Nurney 1998, Nightjars; Raffaele et al. 1998; Wetmore 1919
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: At twilight, from February to May, when its breeding activity is at its height
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Puerto Rican Nightjar — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Yellow-shouldered Blackbird
Agelaius xanthomus
Common Coqui
Eleutherodactylus coqui
Puerto Rican Barn Owl
Tyto cavatica
Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat
Artibeus jamaicensis
Cuban Brown Anole
Anolis sagrei
Cuban Treefrog
Osteopilus septentrionalis
How to help
The puerto rican nightjar is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 1 real protected area — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about puerto rican nightjar.
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