White-throated Nightjar

The white-throated nightjar is a species endemic to eastern Australia. Birds reside in northeast Australia throughout the year and travel to the south to breed. Specifically, their breeding range is in Australia east of the Great Dividing Range, New Caledonia, or the Solomon Islands. Birds are most abundantly found in New South Wales and Queensland. During the winter, birds migrate from February until April to Papua New Guinea as non-breeding visitors. Although most overwinter outside of Australia, there are birds that remain in north and central Queensland all year long. This species is able inhabit a wide variety of habitats but is most commonly found in dry low-elevation forests. They prefer to nest and roost in dry sclerophyll woodlands with sparse and discontinuous understory. Many individuals have been found to specifically live in woodlands that have experienced disturbances such as forest fires. In New South Wales, birds have been found inhabiting the edges of rainforests and mangroves. Those that winter in New Guinea occur in savannas, open grasslands, forest edges, marshlands and gardens. Wintering birds may also be found along the beaches of the Solomon islands.

Although E. mystacalis is currently listed as least concern, the trend in their overall population is decreasing. They are often traveling along the sides of roads at night searching for food resulting in fatal traffic collisions. Feral cats and dogs prey upon both adults and chicks. Fire ants (Wasmannia auropunctata) introduced in the 1970s have spread into E. mystacalis native range and threaten nestlings. Furthermore, increasing bushfires have affected large parts of the Melaleuca savanna, destroying habitable sites. The current estimate of individuals is unknown.