biology

Papuan nightjar

Papuan 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 Papuan nightjar rather than just read about it. In short: The Papuan nightjar or Papuan eared-nightjar (Eurostopodus papuensis) is a species of nightjar in the family of Caprimulgidae. It is found in New Guinea and some surrounding islands.

Key takeaways

Papuan 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 Papuan nightjar to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Papuan nightjar from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Papuan nightjar or Papuan eared-nightjar (Eurostopodus papuensis) is a species of nightjar in the family of Caprimulgidae. It is found in New Guinea and some surrounding islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. It is widespread, occurring across 1,210,000 km2, however its population is decreasing. Exact numbers are uncertain due to lack of data, but there is believed to be under 10,000 mature individuals (with a 10% decrease expected over the next decade mainly due to loss of tree cover, which it is heavily reliant on). Its diet consists mainly of insects.

Taxonomy The Papuan nightjar was originally described by Hermann Schlegel in 1886. It is in the order Caprimulgiformes, with contains the single family of Caprimulgidae (or nightjars). It is in the genus Eurostopodus.

Habitat Papuan Nightjars are widespread across New Guinea as well as a few surrounding islands. They reside and hunt mainly in lowland rainforest in clearings and openings with good ground cover, from sea-level to 400m.

Description The Papuan nightjar is between 28 and 35 cm long, weighting 0.11 kg (female) and 0.12 kg (male) with a wingspan of 55–65 cm. [1] It has huge eyes, a white V on its throat, and is mottled brown and grey with specks of gold, made to mimic forest leaf litter. It is distinguished from other members of its family by a lack of white tail or wing markings.

Behaviour

Breeding Poorly know, but probably breed June—August. A clutch of a single egg is laid, generally in a clearing among undergrowth. The egg is placed directly on the ground or on leaf litter, with no nest. Eggs are elliptical, 32mm x 23·8–25 mm, pinkish brown with heavy hard and light brown blotching, and underlying grey patches. Incubated by the female during the day.

Feeding Feeds by foraging while in flight in forest clearings or openings or over canopy, and by making sallies from the ground. Diet consists of moths and other insects.

Vocal behaviour (Presumed) song of the male is a rapid coo-coo-coo; other calls include a low guttural chattering.

Conservation Status While the Papuan nightjar is least concern, this is due rather to its widespread nature and not to numbers, which are unknown. However it does seem scarce, and is presumably threatened by habitat loss and degradation.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Papuan nightjar

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Papuan 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 Papuan 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 Papuan 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 Papuan nightjar

In research: Papuan 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 Papuan 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: Papuan nightjar is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Birds described in 1866, Birds of New Guinea, Caprimulgiformes stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Papuan 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 Papuan nightjar in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Papuan 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 Papuan nightjar out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Papuan nightjar in simple terms?

The Papuan nightjar or Papuan eared-nightjar (Eurostopodus papuensis) is a species of nightjar in the family of Caprimulgidae. It is found in New Guinea and some surrounding islands.

Why does Papuan 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 Papuan 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 Papuan nightjar.