Habitat
Dry, open eucalypt forests and woodlands, usually with sparse or heath understorey and abundant leaf-litter, often associated with stony ridges or other rocky outcrops.
Habits
Usually singly during the day, resting on the ground.
Food
Nocturnal flying insects, mainly beetles, moths and occasionally mole crickets, grasshoppers and winged ants.
Voice
An attractive, long sequence of musical, bubbling sounds, beginning with very slow notes that become more rapid, rising to a crescendo, then abruptly switching to a long cascade of bubbling notes, 'awwk, awwk, awk, awk-awk-awk-awk-quok-quok-quok-quok-quok-'. Also a sharp, penetrating 'aik!, aik!, aik!'.
Nest
None. The egg is laid directly on the bare ground.
Eggs (Guide)
1; cream to buff, boldly spotted and blotched with black and sepia towards the larger end; ellipsoidal; about 37 - 42 x 27 - 30 mm. Incubation: 22 - 28 days; by both sexes.
Young
Semi-precocial, semi-nidifugous. Fledge in about 31 days.
Subspecies
Genus tentatively merged into Caprimulgus by one author, but this proposal has received very little support. Formerly listed as Eurostopodus albogularis, but name mystacalis has priority. Internal taxonomy worthy of further study. Subspecies nigripennis and exul may both be distinct species, with at least the former apparently differing vocally from nominate mystacalis.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
mystacalis (Temminck, 1826) - Coastal eastern Australia, east of the Great Divide, and migrating to eastern and central New Guinea.
nigripennis E. P. Ramsay, 1881 - Bougainville and Solomon Islands. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Solomons Nightjar (Eurostopodus nigripennis).
exul Mayr, 1941 - New Caledonia. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, New Caledonian Nightjar (Eurostopodus exul).
Similar Species
Spotted Nightjar (Eurostopodus argus) which is smaller, extensively spotted and barred buff and rufous and has small, white wingbars.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet