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Jamaican Poorwill

Siphonorhis americana

About

The Jamaican Poorwill hasn’t been officially recorded since 1860, though there have been recent unconfirmed reports.

As the species is nocturnal, it may be that recent surveys have overlooked the species, explaining its absence from official reports. They are likely driven to the edge of existence by the introduction of mongooses and rats, coupled with habitat destruction for agriculture and logging. Because of these threats and a lack of confirmed sightings, the Jamaican Poorwill is listed as Critically Endangered, with a likely population size no bigger than 50 individuals.

  • Order: Caprimulgiformes
  • Family: Caprimulgidae
  • Population: <50
  • Trend: unknown

EDGE Score

EDGE Score: 5.53 (?)
ED Score: 14.81 (?)
GE / IUCN Red List (?)
Not Evaluated Data Deficient Least Concern Near Threatened Vulnerable Endangered Critically Endangered Extinct in the Wild Extinct

Distribution

This species is endemic to Jamaica, primarily on the southern side of the island.

Habitat and Ecology

Little is known of this species’ habitat and ecology, though it is thought that they inhabit dry limestone forest, semi-arid woodland or open country at low elevations, presumably nesting on the ground. They are nocturnal.

Find out more

This wordcloud illustrates the threats facing this species. The size of each word indicates the extent of a species range that is affected by that threat (larger size means a greater area is affected). The colour of the word indicates how much that threat impacts the species (darker shades of red mean the threat is more severe).

Industrial development Crops Mining Invasive species

Threat wordcloud key:

Small area affected
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
Large area affected
Least severe
Most severe
Severity unknown
Source: The IUCN List of Threatened Species. Version 2017.1.
Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org