Tours where you can spot this bird
No tours linked yet.
Scissor-tailed Nightjar
Hydropsalis torquata (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
Caprimulgidae — Nightjars
Scissor-tailed Nightjar, Hydropsalis torquata, is a nightjar of South America, breeding from Amazonia and southern Peru to southern Brazil and central Argentina. It belongs to the family Caprimulgidae. Its most striking feature is the male’s very long outer tail feathers, which are nearly twice the length of the body. The species was first described in 1789 by Gmelin. It occurs in open and semi-open country, including scrub, grassland, pastures, acacia groves and urban parks, and can also be found along roads beside sugar cane fields.
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Caprimulgidae — Nightjars
- Breeding range
- South America: Amazonia and s Peru to s Brazil and c Argentina
