Species Eurostopodus (Eurostopodus) argus (Hartert, 1892)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Eurostopus argus Hartert, E. 1892. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Picariae. Coraciae. London : British Museum Vol. 16 xvi 703 pp., xiv pls. [608] [as Eurostopus; taken from Caprimulgus argus Rosenberg, 1867, nom. nud. (q.v.); all specimens in BMNH quoted in the protologue of Eurostopus argus Hartert, 1892 are syntypes, from which Mathews (see below) nominated a lectotype under ICZN Art. 74(a); cf. Warren, R.L.M. 1966. Type-specimens of Birds in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 1 Non-Passerines. London : British Museum ix 320 pp. (19) who cites only syntypes, viz. BMNH 1888.10.3.16; lectotype provided with no specified locality other than state, see e.g., collector Sturt, C. 1849. Narrative of an Expedition into Central Australia, performed under the Authority of Her Majesty's Government, during the years 1844, 5, and 6. London : T. & W. Boone Vol. II vi 308 + 92 pp. (Appendix, p. 18)—Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp. correction to New South Wales is unjustified; Eurostopodus guttatus (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) commonly misapplied to this species from time of Gould onwards—for correction, see 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] (123)].

  Type data:

   Lectotype BMNH adult skin (no. unspecified, as 'e', ex S. Australia Capt. Sturt [C.]), South Australia (as Australia, Aru Islands and probably New Ireland).
  Paralectotype(s) BMNH 1888.10.3.16 (all other BMNH specimens cited by Hartert, E. 1892. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Picariae. Coraciae. London : British Museum Vol. 16 xvi 703 pp. XIV pls [Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp. 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) (contrasting opinion) Sherborn, C.D. 1922. Index Animalium; sive, Index nominem quae ab A.D. 1758 generibus et speciebus animalium imposita sunt, societatibus eruditorum adiuvantibus. Sectio Secunda, 1801–1850. London : British Museum Pt 1 cxxxvi 128 pp. [lx] Browning, M.R. & Monroe, B.L., Jr 1991. Clarifications and corrections of the dates of issue of some publications containing descriptions of North American birds. Arch. Nat. Hist. 18: 381–405] [608–609]).

  Subsequent designation references:

  Mathews, G.M. 1918. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pt 3 pp. 217-320 pls 343-351. [Date published 26 Aug. 1918: volume dated as 1918–1919] [233] (cf. <0051>).

  Type locality references:

  Mathews, G.M. 1918. The Birds of Australia. London : Witherby & Co. Vol. 7 pt 3 pp. 217-320 pls 343-351. [Date published 26 Aug. 1918: volume dated as 1918–1919] [233] (by lectotypification; cf. Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171–455 [publication dated Jan. 1912, published 31 Jan.]; Mathews, G.M. 1927. Systema Avium Australasianarum. A systematic list of the birds of the Australasian region. London : British Ornithologists' Union Pt 1 iv 426 pp.; 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] [123]).

  Secondary source:

   Sturt, C. 1849. Narrative of an Expedition into Central Australia, performed under the Authority of Her Majesty's Government, during the years 1844, 5, and 6. London : T. & W. Boone Vol. II vi 308 + 92 pp.; Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.; Warren, R.L.M. 1966. Type-specimens of Birds in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 1 Non-Passerines. London : British Museum ix 320 pp.; 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].
• Caprimulgus argus Von Rosenberg, C.B.H. 1867. Reis naar de Zuidoostereilanden, gedaan in 1865 op last der Regering van Nederlandsch - Indie. 's-Gravenhage : M. Nijhoff xxxvii 125 pp. 7 pls. [Browning, M.R. & Monroe, B.L., Jr 1991. Clarifications and corrections of the dates of issue of some publications containing descriptions of North American birds. Arch. Nat. Hist. 18: 381–405 (cf. Mathews, G.M. 1920. Dates of ornithological works. Austral Avian Records 4: 1–27; Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.)] [37] [nom. nud., based on two undescribed specimens collected by C.B.H. von Rosenberg at Maikoor, Aru Islands; first referred to this species by Salvadori, T. 1880. Ornitologia della Papuasia e delle Molucche. Parte Prima. Torino : G.B. Paravia & Co. xii 573 pp. [532], but as a name without description in synonymy, and there unavailable under ICZN Art. 11(e)].

  Secondary source:

   Salvadori, T. 1880. Ornitologia della Papuasia e delle Molucche. Parte Prima. Torino : G.B. Paravia & Co. xii 573 pp.
• Eurostopodus argus harterti Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] [291].

  Type data:

   Holotype AMNH 632513 ♂ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 5217), Newery (=Newry) Station, Victoria River, NT (as Northern Territory)
  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 (145-146).

  Type locality references:

  Storr, G.M. 1966. J.T. Tunney's itinerary in northern Australia 1901–1903. The Emu 66: 59-65 (determined from the itinery of the collector, J.T. Tunney); 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.
• Eurostopodus guttatus gilberti Deignan, H.G. 1950. Two new races of the Spotted Nightjar, Eurostopodus guttatus (Vigors & Horsfield). The Emu 50: 21-23 [21] [for additional details including further specification of type locality, see Deignan, H.G. 1964. Birds of the Arnhem Land Expedition. pp. 345–425 in Specht, R.L. (ed). Records of the American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land. Vol. 4 Zoology. General Editor C.P. Mountford. Melbourne : Melbourne University Press xvii 533 pp.].

  Type data:

   Holotype AM 0.38792 ♂ adult (ex USNM 405836), Umbakumba, Groote Eylandt, NT (as Ambukwamba, Groote Eylandt).
  Paratype(s) USNM 405837 ♂ adult; USNM ♂ adult (no. unspecified); USNM ♂ adult (no. unspecified); USNM ♀ adult (no. unspecified); USNM ♀ adult (no. unspecified).

  Secondary source:

   Deignan, H.G. 1964. Birds of the Arnhem Land Expedition. pp. 345-425 in Specht, R.L. (ed.). Records of the American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land. Zoology. Parkville : Melbourne University Press Vol. 4 xvii 533 pp.

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hartert, E. 1892. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Picariae. Coraciae. London : British Museum Vol. 16 xvi 703 pp., xiv pls. (specific limits)
• Goodwin, D. in Hall, B.P. (ed.) 1974. Birds of the Harold Hall Australian Expeditions 1962–70. A report on the collections made for the British Museum (Natural History). Results of the Harold Hall Australian Expeditions, No. 33. London : British Museum. 10 pls col. pl. map xi 396 pp.
• Condon, H.T. 1975. Checklist of the Birds of Australia. Part 1 Non-Passerines. Melbourne : Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union xx 311 pp. (Australia only)
• Wolters, H.E. 1975–1982. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit Verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen und englischen Namen. Hamburg : Paul Parey xx 745 pp.
• 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] [123]
• White, C.M.N. & Bruce, M.D. 1986. The Birds of Wallacea (Sulawesi, the Moluccas & Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia). An annotated check-list. B.O.U. Check-list No. 7. London : British Ornithologists' Union 524 pp.

 

Distribution

States

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

Extra Distribution Information

Widespread mainland Australia; rare records on Babar and Romang Is. in Lesser Sundas, Aru Is. in Arafura Sea, and Irian Jaya, but status not known; assumed to be winter visitor from Australia; all mainland Australia W of Great Dividing Range, reaching east coast north of c. 20ºS and ranging south-east to Roma, QLD, Moree, Wellington and Corowa, NSW, and Benalla and Warrnambool, VIC—accidental further south-east—also larger off-shore islands, including Prince of Wales Is., Torres Strait.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

drainage basins and coastal and oceanic zones

IBRA

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), 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 South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), 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)

Other Regions

Torres Strait Islands terrestrial, marine & freshwater

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • New South Wales: Bulloo River basin, Lake Eyre basin, Murray-Darling basin
  • Northern Territory
  • Queensland: Torres Strait Islands
  • South Australia
  • Victoria: Murray-Darling basin
  • Western Australia

Ecological Descriptors

Aerial, arthropod-feeder, crepuscular, hummock grassland, low open shrubland, low open woodland, low shrubland, low woodland, migratory, nocturnal, nomadic, open heath, open scrub, sand hill desert, sand plain desert, sedentary, tall open shrubland, terrestrial, territorial, tussock grassland, volant, woodland.

Extra Ecological Information

Randomly dispersed, seasonal breeder, feeds on wing at night in twisting and turning evolutions on stiffly-held, jerked wings, roosts on bare ground or among leaf litter by day, calls on wing or from ground, lays a single olive-cream ellipsoid egg sparingly marked with bold sepia and mauve on bare ground, hatchlings chestnut-downed and immatures toned moderately russet dorsally, partly sedentary and partly breeding summer migrant south of c. 25ºS, present year round further north, and occasionally straggling to winter beyond on islands in the Banda and Arafura Seas, even reaching New Ireland.

 

General References

Dawson, W.R. & Fisher, C.D. 1969. Responses to temperature by the Spotted Nightjar (Eurostopodus guttatus). Condor 71: 49-53 (thermoregulation)

Deignan, H.G. 1950. Two new races of the Spotted Nightjar, Eurostopodus guttatus (Vigors & Horsfield). The Emu 50: 21-23 (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Edwards, H.V. 1925. The Spotted Nightjar in coastal New South Wales. The Emu 25: 121 (occurrence)

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, in part with Eurostopodus mystacalis (Temminck, 1826))

Mack, G. 1953. Birds from Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 13: 1-39 (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

Mathews, G.M. 1912. A Reference-List to the Birds of Australia. Novitates Zoologicae 18: 171-455 [Date published 31 Jan 1912] (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement also subsequent revisions)

Miller, R. 1972. Nesting habits of Spotted Nightjars. Australian Birds 7: 3-4 (nidification, voice)

Peters, J.L. 1940. Check-list of Birds of the World. Cambridge : Harvard University Press Vol. 4 xii 291 pp. (presenting alternative taxonomic arrangement)

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

Tarr, H.E. 1948. Notes on the brooding of the Spotted Nightjar. The Emu 47: 362-367 [publication date Mathews, G.M. 1920. Dates of ornithological works. Austral Avian Records 4: 1–27 Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.] (breeding, behaviour)

 

History of changes

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