Cuban pauraque facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cuban pauraqueTemporal range: Early Holocene
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Siphonorhis
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daiquiri
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The Cuban pauraque (Siphonorhis daiquiri), also known as the Cuban poorwill, was a special kind of nightjar. Nightjars are birds that are mostly active at night. This bird used to live on the island of Cuba in the Caribbean, but it is now extinct. This means there are no more Cuban pauraques left alive today.
Contents
Discovering the Cuban Pauraque
How We Know About This Bird
The Cuban pauraque was first described in 1985 by a scientist named Storrs Olson. He found some very old bone pieces of the bird. These bones are called subfossils because they are not fully fossilized, but they are still very old.
Where the Bones Were Found
Storrs Olson collected these bones in 1980. He found them in a cave on a hillside. This cave was located near a village called Daiquirí in Cuba. Daiquirí used to be a busy port. It is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of a bigger city called Santiago de Cuba. The bird's scientific name, Siphonorhis daiquiri, was chosen to honor the place where its bones were found.
What the Cuban Pauraque Was Like
Size and Appearance
The Cuban pauraque was a medium-sized bird. It was bigger than its relative, the least poorwill (S. brewsteri), which lives in Hispaniola. But it was smaller than another relative, the Jamaican pauraque (S. americana), found in Jamaica. Like other nightjars, the Cuban pauraque likely had feathers that helped it blend in with its surroundings. This is called "cryptic nature," meaning it was good at hiding.
Ancient Meals and Time Periods
Storrs Olson believed that the bones of the pauraque, along with other animal remains found in the cave, were likely the leftovers from barn owl meals. Barn owls are birds of prey that often eat smaller animals. These bone deposits were from the Holocene age. The Holocene is the current geological period, which started about 11,700 years ago.
Is It Really Extinct?
Because nightjars are so good at hiding, some scientists wondered if the Cuban pauraque might still be alive. It's hard to find birds that are active at night and blend in well. However, there have been no confirmed sightings of living Cuban pauraques. This means it is very likely that this unique bird is indeed extinct.
See also
In Spanish: Siphonorhis daiquiri para niños
