Hydropsalis
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hydropsalis is a genus of nightjars in the family Caprimulgidae. The species are widely distributed across the tropical and subtropical regions of the New World.
| Hydropsalis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scissor-tailed nightjar (Hydropsalis torquata) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | Strisores |
| Order: | Caprimulgiformes |
| Family: | Caprimulgidae |
| Genus: | Hydropsalis Wagler, 1832 |
| Type species | |
| Caprimulgus furcifer Vieillot, 1817 | |
Taxonomy
The genus Hydropsalis was introduced in 1832 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler.[1] The type species was designated by George Robert Gray in 1855 as Caprimulgus furcifer Vieillot 1817.[2][3] This taxon is now considered as a subspecies of the scissor-tailed nightjar (Hydropsalis torquata).[4] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek hudro- meaning "water-" with psalis meaning "pair of scissors".[5]
The genus contains four species:[4]
- White-tailed nightjar, Hydropsalis cayennensis – Costa Rica through north South America
- Ladder-tailed nightjar, Hydropsalis climacocerca – Amazonia
- Scissor-tailed nightjar, Hydropsalis torquata – Amazonia and south Peru to south Brazil and central Argentina
- Long-trained nightjar, Hydropsalis forcipata – southeastern Brazil and adjacent northeastern Argentina (Misiones)
