Tawny-collared Nightjar

The tawny-collared nightjar is 23 to 25.5 cm (9.1 to 10 in) long. One female weighed 56 g (2.0 oz). The male's upperparts are blackish brown; the crown has blackish spots and the back and rump have fine light brown speckles and broad blackish streaks. It has a broad tawny or buff collar on the nape and the sides of the neck that give the species its name. The tail is also dark brown and the three outermost pairs of feathers have wide white tips. The wings are brown to blackish brown with tawny spots and bars. The face is dark reddish with brown barring. The chin and throat are blackish brown with a narrow white band below the latter, the breast blackish brown with cinnamon speckles, and the belly and flanks blackish brown with many white spots. The female is similar but the tips of the tail feathers have a narrow buff band instead of the wide white one, the tawny markings on the wing are paler, and the band on the lower throat is buffy rather than white.

The tawn-collared nightjar is found in northeastern Mexico, from Nuevo León and Tamaulipas south to Veracruz. It is mostly resident but a few apparently move further south in the nonbreeding season. It inhabits arid to semihumid landscapes including brushy woodland, thorn forest, and dense scrublands. It shuns humid and heavily forested areas. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 500 m (1,600 ft).

The tawny-collared nightjar is nocturnal. It hunts for flying insects by sallying from a perch and possibly also from the ground.