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13

Spotted Nightjar (Eurostopodus argus) Aboriginal name(s): "kalka", "kwoynkordong" (WA) Size: 25-28 cm Weight: 75-130 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Spotted Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal predators. Their plumage is highly cryptic. They are primarily dark grey-brown, with rufous and grey streaking and barring. They have small white spots on both sides of the throat. While perched on the ground, the tip of the tail extends clearly beyond the dark-grey wing tips. In-flight one can see the prominent white spots on the outer primaries that give the species its name. The eyes are dark-brown and have the typical, unusual form of other nightjars. The small, downward-curved bill is dark-grey. Twitcher's tip They are distinguished from White-throated Nightjars by their more rufous general appearance, also in-flight, when their rufous underparts show. In-flight the main distinction between the two species is that Spotted Nightjars have prominent white spots on their outer primaries.

Taxonomy, classification See Spotted Nightjar at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Spotted Nightjar is available HERE . Spotted Nightjars are a partially migratory, partially sedentary species that occurs in much of Australia and on some islands in Indonesia. In Australia, Spotted Nightjars can potentially be found on most of the continent - they are ABSENT only eastward and southward of the Great Dividing Range, from coastal central QLD to south-eastern SA. They do not occur on Tasmania either. In the North of their range they are mostly sedentary or locally migratory, while birds from the southern parts of their range will migrate into the tropics during the southern winter. Spotted Nightjars are very adaptive and can be found in a variety of mostly semi-arid to arid habitats, such as mallee or mulga-dominated scrub, but also dry woodland, with a preference for stony or sandy areas (often on hilltops and ridges). We have also found them in regrowth dominated by wattles and young eucalypts after bushfire.

Sightings Click here for sighting information We first found Spotted Nightjars in the Pilliga scrub in November 2018, when a bird was flushed from the side of a dirt road. A Spotted Nightjar was found at Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, in June 2019. P. Brown reports spotting a pair of Spotted Nightjars at the Goorrandalng Campground, Keep River NP, NT, in September 2020.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-dorsal view of a Spotted Nightjar in flight, wings up (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Goorrandalng Campground, Keep River NP, NT, September 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a Spotted Nightjar in flight, wings down (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Goorrandalng Campground, Keep River NP, NT, September 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a Spotted Nightjar in flight
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, June 2019]

Behaviour

Spotted Nightjars usually do not perch on shrubs or trees; they are either found on the ground or in the air.

The type of habitat in which we have found Spotted Nightars
[Pilliga scrub, NSW, November 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

spnight_20181127.m4a	(NW NSW)	Contact calls	© MD
spnight_20181113.m4a	(NW NSW)	Contact calls	© MD

More Spotted Nightjar sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

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