The taxonomic position and breeding range of Golden Nightjar Caprimulgus eximius (Caprimulgidae)

Abstract

Golden Nightjar Caprimulgus eximius is an apparently sedentary sub-Saharan species with a breeding range extending from Senegal and Mauritania to Sudan. Although genetic studies of nightjars and related Caprimulgiformes have been published previously, none has included Golden Nightjar. In this study, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of a Golden Nightjar found dead in Western Sahara in April 2016 was sequenced and compared with other species in the genus Caprimulgus. It was concluded with strong support that Golden Nightjar is closely related to Egyptian Nightjar C. aegyptius. It is hypothesised that Golden and Egyptian Nightjars may have arisen by splitting of a single ancestral species into migratory and sedentary populations.

Keywords: Caprimulgus aegyptius, Caprimulgus eximius, Caprimulgus nubicus, Egyptian Nightjar, Golden Nightjar, molecular phylogeny, molecular sexing, Nubian Nightjar, systematics, Western Sahara