Archbold's Nightjar

Open encyclopedia reference

Archbold's nightjar (Eurostopodus archboldi), also known as the mountain eared nightjar or cloud-forest nightjar, is a dark and densely spotted species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is endemic to New Guinea and is the only nightjar species inhabiting the high-elevation subtropical and tropical montane forests of New Guinea. This bird is named after the American explorer Richard Archbold, whose expedition in New Guinea in 1933-1934 led to the discovery of the species.

Archbold's nightjar is a nocturnal species, roosting on the ground during the day and emerging to forage at night. It is a proficient hunter, specialising in catching large insects while in flight.

Due to its restricted geographic range and secretive nature, it is not commonly encountered, and very little is understood about this species. Additionally, due to the great diversity of other avian species in New Guinea, there has been a lack of targeted studies on nightjar species, and particularly not of E. archboldi.

Wikipedia contributors, Archbold's nightjar; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:36:30.708892+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Eurostopodus archboldi (Mayr & Rand, 1935)

Name authority

(Mayr & Rand, 1935)

Common name

Archbold's Nightjar

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Caprimulgiformes

Family

Caprimulgidae

Genus

Eurostopodus

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderCaprimulgiformes
10. familyCaprimulgidae
11. genusEurostopodus Gould, 1838
12. speciesEurostopodus archboldi (Mayr & Rand, 1935)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Eurostopodus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 56 records assigned to Caprimulgidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=555535 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3D2H2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.