biology

Mees's nightjar

Mees's nightjar is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mees's nightjar rather than just read about it. In short: Mees's nightjar (Caprimulgus meesi) is a member of the nightjar family (Caprimulgidae) described as new to science in 2004. It is a representative of the large-tailed nightjar complex found on Flores and Sumba, Indonesia.

Key takeaways

Mees's nightjar belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mees's nightjar to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mees's nightjar from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mees's nightjar (Caprimulgus meesi) is a member of the nightjar family (Caprimulgidae) described as new to science in 2004. It is a representative of the large-tailed nightjar complex found on Flores and Sumba, Indonesia. Previously unrecognised as a separate taxon due to its lack of morphological distinctness, Sangster and Rozendaal (2004) described this new species on the basis of its vocalisations, which differ significantly from those of the large-tailed nightjar races resident on other islands in the Lesser Sundas. The species is named after Gerlof Mees, former curator of the Natural History Museum, Leiden.

References

Sangster, G. and F. Rozendaal (2004) Territorial songs and species-level taxonomy of nightjars of the Caprimulgus macrurus complex, with the description of a new species. Zoologische Verhandelingen (Leiden) Vol. 350 pp. 7–45 PDF

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mees's nightjar

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mees's nightjar claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mees's nightjar before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mees's nightjar ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mees's nightjar

In research: Mees's nightjar appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mees's nightjar in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mees's nightjar is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Birds described in 2004, Birds of Flores, Birds of Sumba, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mees's nightjar outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mees's nightjar in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mees's nightjar means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mees's nightjar out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mees's nightjar in simple terms?

Why does Mees's nightjar matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mees's nightjar?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mees's nightjar.