Saturday 29 March 2014

Caprimulgus pectoralis, Cuvier, 1816

How about a vertebrate?

Photographed in Chongwe, Lusaka, Zambia in December 2012, using Olympus E-420 DSLR and Zuiko 40-150mm lens.
This rather indignant looking bird, as you may have guessed from the rather spectacular case of red-eye, was photographed at night.

The Afrikaans name is Naguil - the brevity of which gives some indication of the ubiquitousness of this species in the southern plains and woodlands; most members of the family receive an extended version of the name for this one (literally night-owl). In Chewa, it is Lumbe - which, unlike naguil, is not species specific - a literal attempt to translate from the English name might be along the (very rough) lines of moto-kholingo lumbe. Possibly.

In English, it's a Fiery-Throated Nightjar; its Linnaean binomial, to cut through this near Babylonian tangle of languages, is

Caprimulgus pectoralis 
Cuvier, 1816

Nightjars, naguils or alumbe, or even Caprimulgids if you'd like to get technical about it, are essentially filter-feeders - their tiny beaks hide the fact that their actual mouths are enormous, and they essentially just fly at night-flying insects with their mouths gaping wide.

With that, then, into the taxonomy:
- Caprimulginae
- Caprimulgidae   
- Caprimulgiformes
- Neoaves                   
- Neognathae                
- Neornithes                    
- Euornithes                      
- Aves                                   
- Maniraptora                      
- Coelurosauria                      
- Tetanurae                               
- Therapoda                                
- Saurischia                                   
- Dinosauria                                    
- Avemetatarsalia                             
- Archosauria                                     
- Archosauromorpha                          
- Sauria                                                  
- Diapsida                                                 
- Romeriida                                                
- Reptilia                                                      
- Amniota                                                       
- Reptiliomorpha                                             
- Tetrapoda                                                        
- Sarcopterygii                                                    
- Osteichthyes                                                       
- Teleostomi                                                             
- Gnathostomata                                                       
- Vertebrata                                                                
- Craniata                                                                     
- Chordata                                                                      
- Deuterostomia                                                               
- Nephrozoa                                                                       
See also Idolomantis dentifrons, Sibylla pretiosa, Tettigonia viridissima, Stictogryllacris punctata, Enyaliopsis, Humbe tenuicornis, Lobosceliana loboscelis, Cyathosternum prehensile, Heteropternis thoracica, Pseudothericles jallae, Dichtha inflata, Oedemera nobilis, Otiorhynchus atroapterus,Malachius bipustulatus , Phyllobius pomaceus, Cheilomenes lunata, Melolontha melolontha, Neojulodis vittipennis, Demetrias atricapillusAnthia fornasinii, Lophyra cf. differens, Synagris proserpina, Vespula germanica, Astata tropicalis, Anthophora furcata, Andrena nigroaenea, Zebronia phenice, Crambus pascuella, Nemophora degeerella, Sphinx ligustri, Laelia robusta, Acada biseriata, Metisella willemi, Anthocharis cardamines, Papilio demodocus, Panorpa germanica, Chloromyia formosa, Senaspis haemorrhoa, Helophilus pendulus, Episyrphus balteatus, Metadon inermis, Diasemopsis meigeniiDolichotachina caudata, Megistocera filipes, Hagenomyia tristis, Pephricus, Grypocoris stysiRanatra, Anoplocnemis curvipes, Enallagma cyathigerum, Pseudagrion hageni, Lestinogomphus angustus, Rhyothemis semihyalina, Phrynarachne rugosa, Hyllus argyrotoxus, Enoplognatha ovataArgiope bruennichi, Pardosa amentata, Alopecosa barbipesDicranopalpus ramosusLigia oceanica and Burtoa nilotica.
- Bilateralia                                                                           
- Eumetazoa                                                                            
- Animalia                                                                                
- Eukaryota                                                                               



And that's all, folks! Happy Earth Hour!

No comments:

Post a Comment