Mees's nightjar (''Caprimulgus meesi'') is a member of the

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called bugeaters, their primary source of food ...

family (Caprimulgidae) described as new to science in 2004. It is a representative of the

large-tailed nightjar The large-tailed nightjar (''Caprimulgus macrurus'') is a species of nightjar known for its distinctive long, broad tail and cryptic plumage that allows it to blend into its surroundings. Found along the southern Himalayan foothills, eastern So ...

complex found on

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...

and

Sumba Sumba (; ), natively also spelt as Humba, Hubba, Suba, or Zuba (in Sumba languages) is an Indonesian island (part of the Lesser Sunda Archipelago group) located in the Eastern Indonesia and administratively part of the East Nusa Tenggara pro ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Previously unrecognised as a separate taxon due to its lack of morphological distinctness, Sangster and Rozendaal (2004) described this new species on the basis of its vocalisations, which differ significantly from those of the large-tailed nightjar races resident on other islands in the Lesser Sundas. The species is named after

Gerlof Mees Gerlof Fokko Mees (16 June 1926 – 31 March 2013) was a Dutch ichthyologist, ornithologist and museum curator. During 1946 to 1949 he took part as a conscript in the military actions to reestablish rule in the Dutch East Indies. During that time ...

, former curator of the Natural History Museum, Leiden.

References

* Sangster, G. and F. Rozendaal (2004
''Territorial songs and species-level taxonomy of nightjars of the ''Caprimulgus macrurus'' complex, with the description of a new species.''
Zoologische Verhandelingen (Leiden) Vol. 350 pp. 7–4
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Mees's nightjar Birds of Flores Endemic birds of Indonesia Birds of Sumba Mees's nightjar {{Caprimulgiformes-stub