Family: Caprimulgidae, Nightjars view all from this family

Description 12" (30 cm). Larger than the Whip-poor-will. Mottled brown. Brown body; wings and tail show white bands in flight, especially conspicuous in male. Identified mainly by voice.

Habitat Semi-open scrub country with thickets, and light woodland clearings.

Nesting 2 pinkish-buff, brown-blotched eggs on bare ground near a bush or a tree.

Range Resident in extreme southern Texas. Also in American tropics.

Voice A burry pur-wheeer, slurred downward and uttered at night.

Discussion Pauraques are virtually impossible to see on the ground in daylight because they match dead leaves and twigs almost perfectly. But when one is flushed from the side of the road by car headlights, the white wing patch, like that of a nighthawk, may be seen distinctly, and the eyes shine a brilliant red. Like other nightjars, Pauraques have an enormously wide gape that enables them to catch large moths, beetles, crickets, and fireflies on the wing at night.