Nacunda Nighthawk (Podager nacunda)
Female Nacunda Nighthawk, Marchantaria, Amazonas, Brazil, April 2001 - click for larger image Marchantaria Island, Amazonas, Brazil
July 2001

The Nacunda Nighthawk is found in South America east of the Andes in two groups: Colombia, Venezuela, Guianas and extreme north of Brazil; and south of the Amazon to central Argentina.
Roosting on a bush, this female shows few of the distinguishing features which include a white throat patch and, in flight, white belly and flanks and very distinctive white bands on the wings. The male has white tips on its tail feathers.

Habitats include forest edges, river edges, savanna and marshes.

The generic name "Podager" comes from the Latin for a man suffering from gout and reflects the awkward walking gait of this nighthawk while the specific name "nacunda" is derived from the Guaraní Indian word for a big-mouth.

There are illustrations in HBW, Volume 5, Pages 314, 316 and 332; and Ridgely & Greenfield, Plate 38.
Previous Page Back to Index Next Page
If you do not see a menu on the left, you may have arrived at this page from another site. Please click Home to get to my main page.