Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela.
Unknown to Ecuador.
Discontinuously from south-eastern Mexico to the Guianas; and discontinuously from north-western and northern Brazil south through south-eastern Peru, northern and east-central Bolivia to eastern Paraguay and south-eastern Brazil.
 
Population
Estimated population is 50,000 - 499,999 (2010).
Spot-tailed Nightjar (Hydropsalis) [XC310723]
by Manuel Grosselet from Minatitlan, refineria de SAnta Alejandrina, Veracruz, Mexico (song)
Spot-tailed Nightjar (Hydropsalis) [XC498051]
by JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA from Setor Samambaia, mata seca, perto da UFG-Agronomia, Goi\u00e2nia-Goi\u00e1s, Brazil (song)
Subspecies
Considered by some authors sufficiently distinctive to merit isolation in a separate genus, in which case Antiurus is available. Disjunct populations could represent more than one species.