2007 IUCN Red List Category – Least concern

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Caprimulgiformes

Family: Steatornithidae

Genus: Steatornis

Species: caripensis

DESCRIPTION

Identification: The oilbird is the only nocturnal, fruit-eating bird in the World. This is a large bird at 41-48 cm , with a wing span of 91 cm. It has a flattened, powerfully hooked bill surrounded by deep chestnut rictal bristles up to 5 cm long. It is mainly reddish-brown with white spots on the nape and wings. Lower parts are cinnamon-buff spotted with white. The stiff tail feathers are a rich brown spotted with white on either side.

The squabs become very fat before fledging, weighing up to half again as much as the adult birds do. They used to be harvested and rendered for oil, hence the name "oilbird".

Behaviour: The oilbird spends the daylight hours roosting or nesting in caves. At night, they forage in the surrounding forests for the fruit of palms, laurels, incense and camphor. They often fly as far as 120km from their cave in search of food. Although the Oilbird forages by sight, it is one of only a few birds, and the only nocturnal one, known to navigate by echolocation in sufficiently poor light conditions, using a series of sharp audible clicks for this purpose. It also produces a variety of harsh screams while in its caves; entering a cave with a light especially provokes these raucous calls. They also may be heard as the birds prepare to emerge from a cave at dusk.

Reproduction: Pairs are monogamous on a long-term basis. The female lays 1-3 eggs and these eggs hatch in about a month. It may take another six weeks to fledge the youngster which has no distinct juvenal plumage. Very young birds are very fat and full of oil. May and June are the months when the highest number of nestlings is to be found.

RANGE AND POPULATION

Population estimate: 154 adults

Population trend: Stable

Country endemic: No

Range: Oilbirds live mainly in South America and are found in the countries of Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia. Oilbirds also range in the Central American countries such as Costa Rica and Panama . It is a bird of tropical and subtropical primary forests.

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THREATS

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The population is low in Trinidad and Tobago and vulnerable due to the specific feeding habits of the species, which feed on palm seeds, as well as their habitat. Living in caves places limitations on population size. Poachers are also another threat.

More accessible caves inhabited by the oilbird are under regular siege by poachers.