Subspecies Aegotheles (Aegotheles) cristatus cristatus (Shaw, 1790)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Caprimulgus cristatus Shaw, G. in White, J. 1790. Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales with Sixty-five Plates of Non descript Animals, Birds, Lizards, Serpents, curious Cones of Trees and other Natural Productions. London : J. Debrett 299 pp. 65 pls. [published before Aug.] [241] [as Crested Goat-Sucker Caprimulgus cristatus in Latin-English appendix of avian names and diagnoses, the authorship of which is concluded under Glossopsitta pusilla (Shaw, 1790), q.v.; presumed holotype figured on plate opposite p. 241 of original description and possibly preserved in NHMW ex Leverian Museum, see von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Ibis 3 3: 14–54; Von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Part II. Ibis 3 3: 105–124; Zimmer, J.T. 1926. Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library. Field Museum of Natural History Publications, Zoological Series 16: 1–364 (Pt 1, Publ. 239), 365–706 (Pt 2, Publ. 240) (under John White)].

  Type data:

   Holotype NHMW (ex Leverian Museum cat. no. 131, figured in White, J. White, J. 1790. Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales with Sixty-five Plates of Non descript Animals, Birds, Lizards, Serpents, curious Cones of Trees and other Natural Productions. London : J. Debrett 299 pp. 65 pls [published before Aug.], original of plate preserved in the 'Port Jackson Painter' series in BMNH; institution uncertain), region of Port Jackson, NSW (as New South Wales).

  Type locality references:

  Alexander, W.B. 1924. White's Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales. The Emu 23: 209-215; Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1981. Nocturnal Birds of Australia. Illustrated by Jeremy Boot. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 136 pp. 22 pls. [publication dated as 1980] [11-12, 112].

  Secondary source:

   von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Ibis 3 3: 14-54; Von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Part II. Ibis 3 3: 105-124; Zimmer, J.T. 1926. Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library. Field Museum of Natural History Publications, Zoological Series 16: 1-364 (Pt 1, Publ. 239), 365-706 (Pt 2, Publ. 240).
• Caprimulgus novaehollandiae Latham, J. 1790. Index ornithologicus, sive Systema Ornithologiae; complectens avium divisionem in classes, ordines, genera, species, ipsarumque varietates: adjectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, &c. London : Leigh & Sotheby Vol. 1 & 2 xviii 920 pp. [588] [as novae Hollandiae; based on the Crested Goat-sucker on plate opposite p. 270 in Phillip, A. 1789. The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay; with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island compiled from authentic papers. London : J. Stockdale viii x 298 lxxiv pp. 54 pls; probable objective synonym of Caprimulgus cristatus Shaw, 1790 (q.v.): Governor Arthur Phillip and his Surgeon-General John White were associated at the founding colony of Port Jackson, used the same vernacular name for this species and had access to the same specimen material].

  Type data:

   Holotype NHMW (institution uncertain, ex Leverian Museum cat. no. 131, figured in Phillip, A. 1789. The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay; with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island compiled from authentic papers. London : J. Stockdale viii x 298 lxxiv pp. 54 pls), region of Port Jackson, NSW (as nova Hollandia)
  Comment: holotype possibly preserved in NHMW ex Leverian Museum, see von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Ibis 3 3: 14–54; Von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Part II. Ibis 3 3: 105–124.

  Type locality references:

  von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Ibis 3 3: 14-54; Von Pelzeln, A. 1873. On the birds in the Imperial Collection at Vienna obtained from the Leverian Museum. Part II. Ibis 3 3: 105-124; Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1981. Nocturnal Birds of Australia. Illustrated by Jeremy Boot. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 136 pp. 22 pls. [publication dated as 1980] [11-12, 112].

  Secondary source:

   Phillip, A. 1789. The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay; with an Account of the Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson & Norfolk Island compiled from authentic papers. London : J. Stockdale viii x 298 lxxiv pp. 54 pls.
• Caprimulgus vittatus Latham, J. 1801. Supplementum Indicis Ornithologici, sive Systematis Ornithologiae. London : G. Leigh, J. & S. Sotheby 74 pp. [58] [based on the Banded Goatsucker on p. 262 and pl. CXXXVI(a) in Latham, J. 1802. Supplement II. to the General Synopsis of Birds. London : Leigh, Sotheby & Son 376 pp. pls CXX–CXL [publication dated as 1801], in turn based on Thomas Watling drawing no. 219 in BMNH, see Sharpe, R.B. 1906. Birds. pp. 79–515 in, The History of the Collections contained in the Natural History Departments of the British Museum. London : British Museum Vol. 2. (144); Hindwood, K.A. 1970. The "Watling" drawings, with incidental notes on the "Lambert" and the "Latham" drawings. Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 1968–69: 16–32 pls IV–VII; for identity of drawing, see Gray, G.R. 1843. Some rectification of the nomenclature of Australian birds. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1 11: 189–194].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown (lost figured on Thomas Watling drawing no. 219 in BMNH), region of Port Jackson, NSW (as Nova Hollandia).

  Type locality references:

  Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1981. Nocturnal Birds of Australia. Illustrated by Jeremy Boot. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 136 pp. 22 pls. [publication dated as 1980] [11-12, 112] (cf. Hindwood, K.A. 1970. The "Watling" drawings, with incidental notes on the "Lambert" and the "Latham" drawings. Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 1968–69: 16–32 pls IV–VII).

  Secondary source:

   Latham, J. 1801. Supplement II. to the General Synopsis of Birds. London : Leigh, Sotheby & Son 376 pp. 120-140 pls. [publication dated as 1801 - see Schodde et al. (2010)]; Gray, G.R. 1843. Some rectification of the nomenclature of Australian birds. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 1 11: 189-194; Sharpe, R.B. 1906. Birds. pp. 79–515 in, The History of the Collections contained in the Natural History Departments of the British Museum. London : British Museum Vol. 2.; Hindwood, K.A. 1970. The "Watling" drawings, with incidental notes on the "Lambert" and the "Latham" drawings. Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 1968–69: 16-32 pls IV-VII.
• Aegotheles lunulatus Jardine, W. & Selby, P.J. 1835. Illustrations of Ornithology. Edinburgh : W.H. Lizars Series Vol. 1 Pt 10 pls 136-151. [text to pl. 149] [as lunulata; Illustrations of Ornithology published in four volumes over the period 1826–1835: Part 10 of Series 1 appeared in Volume 3].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown (formerly in Zoological Society of London), New South Wales.

  Type locality references:

  Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912].
• Aegotheles australis Swainson, W. 1837. On the Natural History and Classification of Birds. In, Lardner, D. (ed.). The Cabinet Cyclopaedia. London : Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman and John Taylor Vol. 2(92) vi 398 pp. [publication dated 1836-1837 Kluge, A.G. 1971. John Edward Gray and "The Zoological Miscellany". In Gray, J.E. (1831–1844). The Zoological Miscellany. [reprint]. U.S.A. Misc. Publ. of Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.] [338] [nom. nov. for Caprimulgus cristatus Shaw, 1790].
• Aegotheles leucogaster Gould, J. 1844. The Birds of Australia. London : J. Gould Vol. 2(16) 104 pls. [published Sept. 1844, publication dated 1848] [text to pl. 2] [first read at meeting of Zoological Society of London, June 25, 1844, but not published until Oct. 1844 in Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1844: 103–107 (106), see Sclater, P.L. 1893. List of the dates of delivery of the sheets of the "Proceedings" of the Zoological Society of London, from the commencement in 1830 to 1859 inclusive. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1893: 435–440; two grey-morph syntypes figured on pl. 2 in original publication—for their identification, see Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1957. On some avian types, principally Gould's, in the collection of the Academy. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 109: 123–246; the other redder syntypes cited in original description have not been traced; lectotypication effected under ICZN Art 74(a)].

  Type data:

   Lectotype ANSP 22076 ♀ adult (Verreaux cat. no. 204), Port Essington, Cobourg Peninsula, NT.
  Paralectotype(s) ANSP 22077 ♀ adult (Verreaux cat. no. 205).

  Subsequent designation references:

  Stone, W. in Stone, W. & Mathews, G.M. 1913. A list of the species of Australian birds described by John Gould, with the location of the type-specimens. Austral Avian Records 1: 129-180 [Date published 28 Feb 1913].

  Secondary source:

   Sclater, P.L. 1893. List of the dates of delivery of the sheets of the "Proceedings" of the Zoological Society of London, from the commencement in 1830 to 1859 inclusive. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1893: 435-440; Meyer de Schauensee, R. 1957. On some avian types, principally Gould's, in the collection of the Academy. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 109: 123-246.
• Aegotheles rufescens Hall, R. 1901. A new species of Owlet Nightjar. Victorian Naturalist 18: 60-61 [published Aug.] [60] [junior homonym of Aegotheles rufescens Salvadori, 1896 (=A. albertisi salvadorii Hartert, 1892)].

  Type data:

   
  Syntype(s) NMV B1429 ♂ adult, Derby, Fitzroy River, WA; NMV B1430 ♀ adult, Derby, Fitzroy River, WA.
• Aegotheles rufus Hall, R. 1901. Alteration of specific name of Aegotheles rufescens, Hall. Victorian Naturalist 18: 89 [published Oct.] [89] [as rufa; nom. nov. for Aegotheles rufescens Hall, 1901].
• Aegotheles cristatus murchisonianus Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] [284] [as murchisoniana].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 631975 ♀ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 3884), Milly Pool, c. 30 km northwest of Wiluna, WA (as West Australia (East Murchison))
  Comment: for identification of holotype and its date of collection, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.

  Type locality references:

  Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1-306; Schodde, R. in Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1997. Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). In, Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 37.2 xiii 440 pp. [318] (from itinerary of collector, see Whitlock, F.L. 1910. On the East Murchison. Four months collecting trip. Emu 9: 181–219).
• Aegotheles cristatus olivei Mathews, G.M. 1918. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pts i-iv xii pp. 1-384 pls 325-362. [Date published 4 Mar. 1918: volume publication dated as 1918–1919; Publication of Pt 1 (4 Mar. 1918), Pt 2 (15 May 1918), Pt 3 (26 Aug.), Pt 4 (19 Dec 1918), Pt 5 (12 June 1919)] [65].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 632016 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 1228), Cairns, north QLD
  Comment: for identification of holotype, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.

  Type locality references:

  Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1-306.
• Aegotheles cristatus centralia Mathews, G.M. 1918. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pts i-iv xii pp. 1-384 pls 325-362. [Date published 4 Mar. 1918: volume publication dated as 1918–1919; Publication of Pt 1 (4 Mar. 1918), Pt 2 (15 May 1918), Pt 3 (26 Aug.), Pt 4 (19 Dec 1918), Pt 5 (12 June 1919)] [67].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 631977 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. unspecified), The Stevenson, near Eringa, SA, c. 26º15´S 134º45´E (as Stevenson's River)
  Comment: for identification of holotype and type locality, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.

  Type locality references:

  Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1-306.
• Aegotheles cristatus melvillensis Mathews, G.M. 1918. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pts i-iv xii pp. 1-384 pls 325-362. [Date published 4 Mar. 1918: volume publication dated as 1918–1919; Publication of Pt 1 (4 Mar. 1918), Pt 2 (15 May 1918), Pt 3 (26 Aug.), Pt 4 (19 Dec 1918), Pt 5 (12 June 1919)] [67].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 631973 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. unspecified), Snake Bay, Melville Is., NT (as Melville Island)
  Comment: for identification of holotype and type locality, see Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1–306.

  Type locality references:

  Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1-306.

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1981. Nocturnal Birds of Australia. Illustrated by Jeremy Boot. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 136 pp. 22 pls. [publication dated as 1980] [112]

 

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Mainland Australia and offshore islands excluding Tasmania, all mainland Australia except treeless desert and rainforest—also main offshore islands of Melville-Bathurst, Groote Eylandt, Mornington, Fraser and Kangaroo, and Trans-Fly savannah of S New Guinea.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Coolgardie (COO), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • Australian Capital Territory
  • New South Wales
  • Northern Territory
  • Queensland
  • South Australia
  • Victoria
  • Western Australia
• Indonesia
  • Irian Jaya
• Papua New Guinea

Ecological Descriptors

Arboreal, arthropod-feeder, low open woodland, low woodland, nocturnal, open forest, open scrub, sedentary, tall open shrubland, territorial, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Randomly dispersed, seasonal breeder, feeds on wing in short, direct sallies or by perch and pounce to and from ground, roosts and nests mainly in eucalypt hollows.

 

General References

Burrell, H. 1914. Owlet-nightjar nestlings. The Emu 13: 216-217 (nidification)

Hatch, J.H. 1977. Further notes on the birds of Kangaroo Island. South Australian Ornithologist 27: 193-194 (distribution)

Lea, A.M. & Gray, J.T. 1935. The food of Australian birds. An analysis of the stomach contents. Part II. The Emu 35: 63-98 (diet)

Muller, K.A. & Clayton, L.J. 1972. Maintaining and breeding Australian Owlet-nightjars Aegotheles cristatus at Sydney Zoo. International Zoo Yearbook 12: 138-140 (nidification, captivity)

Robinson, L.N. & Whitbourn, E.J. 1961. The nesting of two species of nightjars. Australian Bird Watcher 1: 130-135 (nidification)

Rose, A.B. 1973. Food of some Australian birds. The Emu 73: 177-183 (diet)

Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1981. Nocturnal Birds of Australia. Illustrated by Jeremy Boot. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 136 pp. 22 pls. [publication dated as 1980] (general biology)

Webb, G.A. 1989. A note on the diet of the Australian Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles cristatus. Corella 13: 90-91 (diet)

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
		12-Feb-2010	(import)