Eurostopodus


Eurostopodus is a genus of nightjars in the nightjar family Caprimulgidae. This genus is distinctive among the Old World nightjars in lacking long rictal bristles. It also shows some features that are not shared with Caprimulginae and Chordeilinae, like having a larger size or the variable presence of ear-tufts, juveniles showing rufous plumage, long incubation periods and brown-reds and black spotted eggs.

Taxonomy

The genus Eurostopodus was introduced in 1838 by the English ornithologist John Gould in his book A Synopsis of the Birds of Australia, and the Adjacent Islands. Gould listed two species in the genus but did not specify the type. In 1840 George Gray designated the type as Caprimulgus guttatus Vigors & Horsfield, 1827. This is a junior synonym of Caprimulgus mystacalis Temminck, 1826, the white-throated nightjar. The genus name Eurostopodus is derived from the Ancient Greek ευρωστος/eurōstos meaning "strong" or "stout" and πους/pous, ποδος/podos meaning "foot".
The following cladogram is based on a phylogenetic study by Jenna McCullough and collaborators published in 2025.

Species

The genus contains the following seven species:
ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Eurostopodus argusSpotted nightjarmainland Australia, Indonesian islands
Eurostopodus mystacalisWhite-throated nightjareastern Australia; Papua New Guinea
Eurostopodus nigripennisSolomons nightjarSolomon Islands archipelago
Eurostopodus exulNew Caledonian nightjarNew Caledonia. Possibly extinct.
Eurostopodus diabolicusSatanic nightjarSulawesi
Eurostopodus papuensisPapuan nightjarNew Guinea
Eurostopodus archboldiArchbold's nightjarNew Guinea