page_title: Puerto Rican nightjar
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Puerto Rican nightjar / Description
caption_attribution_description: Antrostomus noctitherus English: A Puerto Rican Nightjar in Puerto Rico. It is taking off.
context_page_description: The Puerto Rican nightjar or Puerto Rican Whip-poor-will is a bird in the nightjar family found in the coastal dry scrub forests in localized areas of southwestern Puerto Rico. It was described in 1916 from bones found in a cave in north central Puerto Rico and a single skin specimen from 1888, and was considered extinct until observed in the wild in 1961. The current population is estimated as 1,400-2,000 mature birds. The species is currently classified as Endangered due to pressures from habitat loss.
context_section_description: Puerto Rican nightjars, whose song is composed of rapid "whip" notes, are small birds about 22–23 cm in length, weighing 39-41 g. Similar to the Antillean nighthawk, the species has a mottled, black, brown and gray colored plumage which serves as camouflage while the bird is perched on the ground. Males have a black throat with a white thin horizontal line. There are white spots on the lower part of the tail which are visible in flight. Females are of a buff rather than white coloration. Puerto Rican nightjars have large, dark black eyes, a short gray bill, and gray tarsi. Like all nightjars, they possess stiff bristles around the beak to help with the capture of insects in flight.
caption: Male taking flight
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