NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Australian Owlet-Nightjar
Aegotheles cristatus (Shaw, 1790)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Australian owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles cristatus) is a nocturnal bird found in open woodland across Australia and in southern New Guinea. It is the smallest nocturnal bird found in Australia, making it prone to predation. It is colloquially known as the moth owl or fairy owl and Jarlajirrpi by the Warlpiri people. It is the most common nocturnal bird in Australia. Despite suffering from predation and competition by introduced species, it is not considered threatened.
Wikipedia contributors, Australian owlet-nightjar; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:01:52.498439+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Aegotheles cristatus (Shaw, 1790)
- Name authority
- (Shaw, 1790)
- Common name
- Australian Owlet-Nightjar
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Aegothelidae
- Genus
- Aegotheles
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderApodiformes
- familyAegothelidae
- genusAegotheles Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
- speciesAegotheles cristatus (Shaw, 1790)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Aegotheles. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Barred Owlet-NightjarAegotheles bennettii Salvadori & D'Albertis, 1875 | AegothelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Wallace's Owlet-NightjarAegotheles wallacii G. R. Gray, 1859 | AegothelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Feline Owlet-nightjarAegotheles insignis Salvadori, 1876 | AegothelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Vogelkop Owlet-nightjarAegotheles affinis Salvadori, 1876 | AegothelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Starry Owlet-nightjarAegotheles tatei Rand, 1941 | AegothelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mountain Owlet-NightjarAegotheles albertisi P. L. Sclater, 1874 | AegothelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Enigmatic Owlet-NightjarAegotheles savesi E. L. Layard & E. L. C. Layard, 1881 | AegothelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Caprimulgus cristatus Shaw, 1790 Shaw, 1790 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=555504 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:64WVG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.