Sickle-winged Nightjar

18-20 cm. Upperparts pale gray brown lightly spotted dark brown and boldly spotted blackish on head: wing coverts gray brown, barred blackish and streaked pale buff showing a distinct cinnamon patch distally edged white on the primary coverts: scapulars pale gray brown with irregularly shaped blackish centres: a pale buff stripe above the eye: underparts dark brown tinged cinnamon, barred brown, becoming pale buff indistinctly barred on the lower belly and flanks: the male has a distinctive wing shape with curved outer primaries tipped white and all but the central tail feathers broadly tipped white: the female is browner: iris dark brown. <nThe immature has the upperparts tinged more cinnamon and speckled white but is otherwise like the female.

Calls a weak repetitive chip an tchut from ground or in flight: female a harsh nasal gzee..gzee.. .

Forages by flying low over open areas.

Rare in edges of gallery forest, grassland along streams, savannah, marshland. rarely scrubby edges of lagoons, campo rupestre, chaco-type woodland monte .

Historically recorded from <8E>Fazenda Pedras, Rio Pedras, Paranaciacaba, Mogi das Cruzes, Poa, S<C4>o Jose dos Campos, Orissanga, Ipanema, Alambari, Itarare ^119 . Occurs in the Estacao Experimental de <8E>Itapetininga http | <10><10>www.iflorestsp.br<10>body.htm near <8E>Aracoiaba da Serra<8E> west of <8E>Sorocaba.

Identification of the male in flight on the basis of the wing shape is not possible, even by daylight. However the birds have an unusual flight action featuring very fast wing beats reminiscent of an injured bird. This species is very small with a large head. The barring on the underside is also a useful field identification feature. When sitting on the ground the primaries are held in a gentle upwards-arch reaching halfway along the length of the tail.