Puerto Rican Nightjar
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| Caprimulgus noctitherus (Wetmore, 1919) |
The Puerto Rican Nightjar, Caprimulgus noctitherus, is a very rare bird found in the coastal dry scrub forests in localized areas of southwestern Puerto Rico.
It was described from bones found in cave deposits and a single specimen taken in 1888. The species was considered extinct, the specimen being the last remnant of a "prehistoric" bird. However, it was found to be still extant in 1961; it had been overlooked due to its secretive habits and because its habitat was not surveyed.
The current population is estimated to be between 1,400 and 2,000 mature birds and expected to be stable as long as the habitat is not altered and introduced predators - mongooses, rats and cats - are controlled. The classification as critically endangered is mainly due to the special habitat on which it debends being much fragmented by degraded and unsuitable areas; thus the population is very patchily distributed.
The areas of occurrence are nowadays protected and it has been proposed to link areas of occurrence by reforestation with native plant species. A projected wind farm near Guayanilla has been granted exemption from the Endangered Species Act under an "Incidental Take Permit" by the US Fish and Wildlife Service after it detrmined based on scientific information that it would not have an adverse impact on the species. Nightjars have not been reported flying at heights where they would be at risk of being struck by a wind farm rotor.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Caprimulgus noctitherus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is critically endangered
