Fiery-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus pectoralis) [XC834856]
by Marc Anderson from Manyeleti Game Reserve, South Africa (song)
Fiery-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus pectoralis) [XC279945]
by Lynette Rudman from Tamboti Bush Lodge, Dinokeng Game Reserve, Pretoria, South Africa (song)
Subspecies
Fiery-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus pectoralis) and Black-shouldered Nightjar (Caprimulgus nigriscapularis) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) are retained as separate species contra Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993) who include nigriscapularis as a subspecies of Fiery-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus pectoralis).
Often considered conspecific with Black-shouldered Nightjar (Caprimulgus nigriscapularis). These two form superspecies with Montane Nightjar (Caprimulgus poliocephalus) and Ruwenzori Nightjar (Caprimulgus ruwenzorii). The three more northerly subspecies have been considered so distinct from nominate that they may represent an incipient species (Caprimulgus fervidus).
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
shelleyi Barboza du Bocage, 1878 - Angola and southern Zaire east to Tanzania and south-eastern Kenya.
fervidus Sharpe, 1875 - Southern Angola, northern Namibia, northern and eastern Botswana and Zimbabwe to north-eastern South Africa.
crepusculans Clancey, 1994 - Southern Malawi (possibly), south-eastern Zimbabwe and Mozambique to eastern South Africa and eastern Swaziland.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet