Biology:Owlet-nightjar

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Owlet-nightjars are small crepuscular birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. Most are native to New Guinea, but some species extend to Australia, the Moluccas, and New Caledonia. A flightless species from New Zealand is extinct. There is a single monotypic family Aegothelidae with the genus Aegotheles.

Owlet-nightjars are insectivores which hunt mostly in the air but sometimes on the ground; their soft plumage is a cryptic mixture of browns and paler shades, they have fairly small, weak feet (but larger and stronger than those of a frogmouth or a nightjar), a tiny bill that opens extraordinarily wide, surrounded by prominent whiskers. The wings are short, with 10 primaries and about 11 secondaries; the tail long and rounded.

Taxonomy

The genus Aegotheles was introduced in 1827 by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield to accommodate a single species, Caprimulgus novaehollandiae Latham, 1790.[1][2] This binomial name is considered to be a junior synonym of Caprimulgus cristatus, the Australian owlet-nightjar that was introduced by George Shaw earlier in 1790.[3][4][5] The genus name means "nightjar" or "goatsucker" from Ancient Greek αιξ/aix, αιγος/aigos meaning "goat" and θηλαζω/thēlazō meaning "to suckle".[6] The family Aegothelidae was introduced (as subfamily Aegothelinae within the family Caprimulgidae) in 1853 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.[7][8]

A comprehensive 2003 study analyzing mtDNA sequences of Cytochrome b and ATPase subunit 8 suggests that 12 living species of owlet-nightjar should be recognized, as well as another that became extinct early in the second millennium AD.[9]

The relationship between the owlet-nightjars and the (traditional) Caprimulgiformes has long been controversial and obscure and remains so today: in the 19th century they were regarded as a subfamily of the frogmouths, and they are still generally considered to be related to the frogmouths and/or the nightjars. It appears though that they are not as closely related to either as previously thought, and that the owlet-nightjars share a more recent common ancestor with the Apodiformes.[10] As has been suggested on occasion since morphological studies of the cranium in the 1960s,[11] they are thus considered a distinct order, Aegotheliformes. This, the caprimulgiform lineage(s), and the Apodiformes, are postulated to form a clade called Cypselomorphae, with the owlet-nightjars and the Apodiformes forming the clade Daedalornithes.

In form and habits, however, they are very similar to both caprimulgiform group – or, at first glance, to small owls with huge eyes. The ancestors of the swifts and hummingbirds, two groups of birds which are morphologically very specialized, seem to have looked very similar to a small owlet-nightjar, possessing strong legs and a wide gape, while the legs and feet are very reduced in today's swifts and hummingbirds, and the bill is narrow in the latter.

Owlet-nightjars are an exclusively Australasian group, but close relatives apparently thrived all over Eurasia in the late Paleogene.

Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown the Aegotheliformes are sister to the Apodiformes containing the hummingbirds, swifts and treeswifts.[12][13] The two orders shared a common ancestor around 57 million years ago.[13]

Strisores
Caprimulgiformes

Caprimulgidae (nightjars)

 
 
 
Steatornithiformes

Steatornithidae (oilbird)

 
Nyctibiiformes

Nyctibiidae (potoos)

 
 
 
Podargiformes

Podargidae (frogmouths)

 
 
Aegotheliformes

Aegothelidae (owlet-nightjars)

 
Apodiformes
 

Trochilidae (hummingbirds)

 
 
 

Apodidae (swifts)

 
 

Hemiprocnidae (treeswifts)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The following cladogram is based on a 2003 molecular phylogenetic study that sampled three regions of mitochondrial DNA mainly extracted from museum specimens. Some of the nodes were not well supported by the data.[9]

Aegotheles
 

New Caledonian owlet-nightjar, Aegotheles savesi

 
 
 
 

Feline owlet-nightjar, Aegotheles insignis

 
 

Starry owlet-nightjar, Aegotheles tatei

 
 
 
 

Moluccan owlet-nightjar, Aegotheles crinifrons

 
 
 
 

Australian owlet-nightjar, Aegotheles cristatus

 
 
 

Barred owlet-nightjar, Aegotheles bennettii

 
 
 

Vogelkop owlet-nightjar, Aegotheles affinis

 
 

Karimui owlet-nightjar, Aegotheles terborghi

 
 
 
 
 
 

Wallace's owlet-nightjar, Aegotheles wallacii

 
 

Mountain owlet-nightjar, Aegotheles albertisi

 
 
 
 
 
 

Species

The IOC World Bird List (version 15.1) lists ten species of Aegotheliformes:[14]

A fossil proximal right tarsometatarsus (MNZ S42800) was found at the Bannockburn Formation of the Manuherikia Group near the Manuherikia River in Otago, New Zealand. Dating from the Early to Middle Miocene (Altonian, 19–16 million years ago), it seems to represent an owlet-nightjar ancestral to A. novaezealandiae.[15] In 2022, an additional specimen from the same locality was described by Worthy et al. as a new extinct species of Aeotheles, A. zealandivetus. The holotype specimen is NMNZ S.52917, a distal right tarsometatarsus.[16]

Summary of extant species

Common name Binomial name Population Status Trend Notes Range Image
New Caledonian owlet-nightjar Aegotheles savesi 1-49[17] Template:IUCN-CR[17] ?[17] Last confirmed sighting occurred in 1913, with a potential sighting in 1998. May be extinct.[17] 150px 175px
Vogelkop owlet-nightjar Aegotheles affinis unknown[18] Template:IUCN-NT[18] Decrease[18] 150px 175px
Mountain owlet-nightjar Aegotheles albertisi unknown[19] Template:IUCN-LC[19] Decrease[19] 150px 175px
Barred owlet-nightjar Aegotheles bennettii unknown[20] Template:IUCN-LC[20] Decrease[20] IOC taxonomy splits an additional species, the Karimui owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles terborghi) from this species.[14] 150px 175px
Moluccan owlet-nightjar Aegotheles crinifrons unknown[21] Template:IUCN-LC[21] Decrease[21] 150px 175px
Australian owlet-nightjar Aegotheles cristatus unknown[22] Template:IUCN-LC[22] Steady[22] 150px 175px
Feline owlet-nightjar Aegotheles insignis unknown[23] Template:IUCN-LC[23] Decrease[23] 150px 175px
Starry owlet-nightjar Aegotheles tatei unknown[24] Template:IUCN-LC[24] Decrease[24] 150px 175px
Wallace's owlet-nightjar Aegotheles wallacii unknown[25] Template:IUCN-LC[25] Decrease[25] 150px 175px


References

  1. ↑ Vigors, Nicholas Aylward; Horsfield, Thomas (1826). "Australian birds in the collection of the Linnean Society; with an attempt at arranging them according to their natural affinities" (in English, Latin). Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 15 (1): 170–334 [194]. 1827. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1826.tb00115.x. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/778440.  For the publication date see: Raphael, Sandra (1970). "The publication dates of the Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, Series I,1791–1875". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 2 (1): 61–76. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1970.tb01688.x. Bibcode: 1970BJLS....2...61R. 
  2. ↑ Latham, John (1790) (in Latin). Index Ornithologicus, Sive Systema Ornithologiae: Complectens Avium Divisionem In Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, Ipsarumque Varietates. 2. London: Leigh & Sotheby. p. 588. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/53510013. 
  3. ↑ Shaw, George (1790). White, John. ed. Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales : with sixty-five plates of nondescript animals, birds, lizards, serpents, curious cones of trees and other natural productions. London: Printed for J. Debrett. p. 241 Supp. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47182828.  For Shaw as author of the specific name see: Sherborn, C. Davies (1891). "Note on the authors of the specific names in John White's 'Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales', 1790". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Including Zoology, Botany, and Geology. 6th series 7 (42): 535. doi:10.1080/00222939109460662. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25165016. 
  4. ↑ Hemming, Francis, ed (1956). "Report by the Secretary on the relative dates of publication of the names Caprimulgus novaehollandiae Latham and Caprimulgus cristatus Shaw in White, both currently treated as having been published in 1790". Opinions and Declarations Rendered by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 1 Section D Part D.4. London: International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. pp. 204–206. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34613429. 
  5. ↑ Peters, James Lee, ed (1940). Check-List of Birds of the World. 4. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 181. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14476652. 
  6. ↑ Jobling, James A.. "Aegotheles". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=Aegotheles. 
  7. ↑ Bock, Walter J. (1994). History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 222. New York: American Museum of Natural History. pp. 142, 229. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/830. 
  8. ↑ Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1853). "Classification ornithologique par series" (in French). Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences 37: 641–647 [645]. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/1216805. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Dumbacher, J.P.; Pratt, T.K.; Fleischer, R.C. (2003). "Phylogeny of the owlet-nightjars (Aves: Aegothelidae) based on mitochondrial DNA sequence". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 29 (3): 540–549. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00135-0. Bibcode: 2003MolPE..29..540D. 
  10. ↑ Mayr (2002)
  11. ↑ Simonetta (1967)
  12. ↑ Prum, Richard O.; Berv, Jacob S.; Dornberg, Alex; Field, Daniel J.; Townsend, Jeffrey P.; Lemmon, Emily Moriarty; Lemmon, Alan R. (2015). "A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing" (in English). Nature 526 (7574): 569–573. doi:10.1038/nature15697. PMID 26444237. Bibcode: 2015Natur.526..569P. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Stiller, J. (2024). "Complexity of avian evolution revealed by family-level genomes". Nature 629 (8013): 851–860. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07323-1. PMID 38560995. Bibcode: 2024Natur.629..851S. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds (February 2025). "Owlet-nightjars, treeswifts, swifts". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/swifts/. 
  15. ↑ Worthy et al. (2007)
  16. ↑ Worthy, Trevor H.; Scofield, R. Paul; Salisbury, Steven W.; Hand, Suzanne J.; De Pietri, Vanesa L.; Archer, Michael (2022-04-05). "Two new neoavian taxa with contrasting palaeobiogeographical implications from the early Miocene St Bathans Fauna, New Zealand" (in en). Journal of Ornithology 163 (3): 643–658. doi:10.1007/s10336-022-01981-6. ISSN 2193-7206. Bibcode: 2022JOrni.163..643W. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 BirdLife International (2025). "Aegotheles savesi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-2.RLTS.T22689559A218292971.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22689559/218292971. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 BirdLife International (2023). "Aegotheles affinis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T230050796A231645908.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/230050796/231645908. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 BirdLife International (2024). "Aegotheles albertisi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22689576A264072510.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22689576/264072510. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 BirdLife International (2023). "Aegotheles bennettii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T230054372A231689005.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/230054372/231689005. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 BirdLife International (2018). "Aegotheles crinifrons". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22689546A130166032.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22689546/130166032. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 BirdLife International (2024). "Aegotheles cristatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22689555A263683298.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22689555/263683298. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 BirdLife International (2024). "Cyanocitta cristata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22689550A264088302.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22689550/264088302. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 BirdLife International (2023). "Aegotheles tatei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T22728459A223586404.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22728459/223586404. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 BirdLife International (2017). "Aegotheles wallacii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22689568A118125873.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22689568/118125873. 

Sources

  • Mayr, Gerald (2002): Osteological evidence for paraphyly of the avian order Caprimulgiformes (nightjars and allies). J. Ornithol. 143(1): 82–97. doi: 10.1007/BF02465461 PDF fulltext
  • Simonetta, A.M. (1967): Cinesi e morfologia del cranio negli Uccelli non passeriformi. Studio su varie tendenze evolutive. Part II – Striges, Caprimulgiformes ed Apodiformes ["Cranial kinesis and morphology of non-passerine birds. Study of various evolutionary tendencies. Part II – Striges, Caprimulgiformes and Apodiformes"]. [In Italian ] Archivio Zoologico Italiano 52: 1–35.
  • Worthy, Trevor H.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Jones, C.; McNamara, J.A. & Douglas, B.J. (2007): Miocene waterfowl and other birds from central Otago, New Zealand. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 5(1): 1–39. doi:10.1017/S1477201906001957 (HTML abstract)

Wikidata ☰ Q575930 entry



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