Tschudi's Nightjar Systellura decussata Scientific name definitions

Tschudi's Nightjar is named after Johann Jakob von Tschudi, a Swiss explorer who visited Peru in the early 19th century, and who was the first European naturalist to notice this species. This bird just as easily could be called "Desert Nightar", however, as it is restricted to the very arid coast of Peru and northern Chile. Tschudi's Nightjar formerly was considered to be a subspecies of the very widespread Band-winged Nightjar (Systellura longirostris), but the song of Tschudi's now is known to be very different from that of Band-winged, and genetic analysis confirms that these two species are not closely related. This nightjar occurs in arid scrub and fields, as well as in urban areas, even in the city of Lima. It roosts on the ground during the day, singly or in pairs, and forages for insects at night. Otherwise very little is known about the biology of Tschudi's Nightjar.