Common Pauraque Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A fairly large nightjar, with a long tail, long, rounded wings, small head, and large eyes.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Common Nighthawk, smaller than a Chuck-will’s-widow.

  between robin and crow

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 11.0-11.8 in (28-30 cm)
    • Weight: 1.9 oz (53 g)

  © Paul Tavares / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Exquisitely camouflaged with patterns of brown, gold, and gray. Males are dark brown above, paler below, with a rusty cheek and white throat. They have a prominent white band in the wings and white in the tail. Females are similar but with buffy wing band and limited white tips in the tail.

• Behavior

  Forages strictly in the dark by perching on the ground and watching for flying insects overhead, then leaping or flying up and capturing them in the broad mouth.
• Habitat

  Lowland open country, including savanna and similar grassy and brushy habitats, pasture, forest edge, farm fields, roadways, plantations, and mangroves.