New Caledonian nightjar

New Caledonian nightjar

Critically endangered, possibly extinct  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Caprimulgiformes
Family: Caprimulgidae
Genus: Eurostopodus
Species: E. exul
Binomial name
Eurostopodus exul
(Mayr, 1941)

The New Caledonian nightjar (Eurostopodus exul) is a poorly known species of nightjar in the Caprimulgidae family. It is endemic to New Caledonia.

It has silvery-grey plumage with dark blotches and streaks and a blackish crown and dark grey brown underparts with a small white throat patch.

It is considered possibly extinct, as it is known only from the holotype which was collected in 1939. The specimen was of a bird taken in coastal savanna. The possibility of decline in population was probably caused by predation by introduced cats and rats, alongside habitat destruction.


References

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