Submission No 450: Grey Nightjar Caprimulgus indicus; Ashmore Reef. 25^th – 26^th December 2003. (Unpublished). Submitted by: M. Carter.

A Grey (Jungle) Nightjar Caprimulgus indicus spent the night of 25/26 December 2003 resting aboard an Australian Customs Vessel moored at Ashmore Reef. The bird was identified from photographs sent to M. Carter by the officer (Paul Ford) who found the bird.

Although based solely on two photographs, this record has been well researched. The lack of a white throat patch instantly rules out the three regular Australian Nightjars, narrowing the possibilities to either Savanna Nightjar C. affinis or Grey Nightjar C. indicus. A lack of available literature exasperated the identification, however photographic comparison and considerable research confirmed the identity as a female Grey Nightjar, probably a first-year bird, by reference to photographic field guides (e.g. Kanouchi et al. 1998, Iozawa et al. 2000). The bird was most likely of the north-east Asian subspecies jotaka.

Size estimations were possible because photographs showed the bird perched on metal grating of known dimensions. These estimates proved important in the identification process and perspective ‘wing-length’ estimations reveal a length probably greater than 200mm and estimations of a maximum size of the bird suggest 220mm as an upper limit. This fits nicely within the range of Grey Nightjar, and eliminates smaller species such as Sykes’s Nightjar C. mahrattensis, Jerdon’s Nightjar C. atripennis, Philippine Nightjar, C. manillensis, Indian Nightjar C. asiaticus, Sulawesi Nightjar C. celebensis, Bonaparte’s Nightjar C. concretus, Salvadori’s Nightjar C. pulchellus and, most importantly, Savanna Nightjar (Cleere & Nurney, 1998). Additionally the description of the crown & nape, moustachial streak, spots at the sides of the breast, scapulars and lesser wing-coverts, tail, tertials and primary projection all support the identification.

Based on the author’s thorough analysis and investigative work, committee members voted unanimously in favour of acceptance agreeing that the bird was most likely a female of the race jotaka.

The Grey Nightjar has a widespread breeding range throughout Asia from India in the west to Japan in the east and from southern Siberia in the north to Sri Lanka in the south. In some areas, e.g. Japan, (race jotaka), it is common. The tropical and subtropical population is resident but the more northerly population is migratory, wintering in SE Asia, the Philippines and Greater Sundas including Java (MacKinnon & Phillipps (1993), Grimmett et al. (1998), Kanouchi et al. (1998) and Robson (2000). There is only one record for Wallacea (from Halmahera) (Coates et al., 1997) and one, race jotaka, for New Guinea (Irian Jaya) (Coates 1990). This is the first confirmed record for Australia.

References & Bibliography

· Christidis, L. & Boles, W. E. (1994), The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories, RAOU Monograph 2, Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, Melbourne.

· Cleere, N. & Nurney, D. (1998), Nightjars, Pica, Sussex.

· Coates, B.J. (1990), The Birds of Papua New Guinea, Vol. 2, Dove, Alderley, Queensland.

· Coates, B.J., Bishop, K.D. & Gardner, D. (1997), A Guide to the Birds of Wallacea, Dove, Alderley, Queensland.

· Cramp, S. (Ed.) (1985), The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. 4, Terns to Woodpeckers, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

· Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C. & Inskipp, T. (1998), Birds of the Indian Subcontinent, Christopher Helm, London.

· Higgins, P.J. (Ed.) (1999), Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds Vol. 4, Parrots to Dollarbird, Oxford, Melbourne.

· Iozawa, H., Yamagata, N. & Yoshino, T. (2000), Japanese Bird 550: Landbirds, Bunichi General Publisher, Tokyo (in Japanese).

· Kanouchi, T., Abe, N. & Ueda, H. (1998), Wild Birds of Japan, Yama-Kei, Tokyo (in Japanese).

· MacKinnon, J. & Phillipps, K. (1993), A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

· Robson, C. (2000), A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia, New Holland, London.

Verdict: Accepted

Tony Palliser

Chairman, Birds Australia Rarities Committee