The buff-collared nightjar or Ridgway's whip-poor-will (''Antrostomus ridgwayi'') is a species of

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 ...

in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, and the U.S. state of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

.Bowers Jr., R. K. and J. B., Jr. Dunning (2020). Buff-collared Nightjar (''Antrostomus ridgwayi''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bucnig.01 retrieved 16 October 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The buff-collared nightjar has two subspecies, the nominate ''Antrostomus ridgwayi ridgwayi'' and ''A. r. troglodytes''. For a time it was included in genus ''Caprimulgus'' but was later restored to its original genus.

Description

The buff-collared nightjar is long. "A. r. ridgwayi" weigh ; one male ''A. r. troglodytes'' weighed . The head, upperparts, and tail are brownish gray with gray, cream, and rust markings. It has a bright cinnamon buff collar on the hindneck and a narrow buffy white band under the throat. The wings are brownish black with cinnamon buff bands. The breast is brownish gray and the belly tan with dark brown bars. The ends of the two outermost tail feathers have much white in the male and a small amount of buff in the female.

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of buff-collared nightjar breeds from southeastern Arizona south through central Mexico to

Morelos Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...

; it migrates from that area in winter. It is a year round resident in western Mexico from southern

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

. ''A. r. troglodytes'' is a year round resident of Guatemala, Honduras, and possibly

. They inhabit a variety of landscapes including thickly vegetated ravines and canyons in the arid north and thorn scrub and moister pine-oak woodlands to the south. In the U.S. it is typically found between of elevation. It nests as low as sea level and as high as in Mexico, and in Honduras is found between .

Behavior

The buff-collared nightjar is most active at dawn and dusk but is also

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

. During the day it roosts on the ground under low vegetation, typically on steep ground with its head pointing downhill.

Feeding

The buff-collared nightjar forages by flying from a perch or the ground to as high as and returns to the same spot. It hunts from dusk well into the night and again near dawn. Its diet of nocturnal flying insects has not been detailed.

Breeding

The buff-collared nightjar's breeding season has not been fully defined but includes at least April to June. The clutch of two eggs is laid directly on the ground without a nest, though larger rocks may be pushed away. It is typically in a shady spot. There is at least one observation of an adult giving a broken-wing display, apparently to distract two canyon walkers from its nest.

Vocalization

The male buff-collared nightjar's song is a "long rising, accelerating series of ''cuk'' notes ending in ''cuk-a-cheea'' that drops suddenly at the end." Both sexes make "''chuck''" calls; males give a "''quirr''" call. It typically sings the most at dawn and dusk but will continue intermittently through the night. It sings nightly between mid May and early August and infrequently during the rest of the year.

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the buff-collared nightjar as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range and an estimated population of 2,000,000, though that number is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been determined. There is potential for habitat loss in Mexico; virtually all of its tiny U.S. range is protected in some way from that threat.

References

External links

Buff-collared Nightjar photo
siti.com
RangeMaps & synopsis
InfoNatura NatureServe

VIREO {{Taxonbar, from=Q1276058 Antrostomus Native birds of the Southwestern United States Birds of Central America Birds of Mexico Birds of Guatemala Birds of Honduras Birds of Nicaragua Birds of the Sierra Madre Occidental Birds of the Sierra Madre del Sur Birds of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Birds described in 1897 Taxa named by Edward William Nelson