Photo: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, via Wikimedia Commons
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Steatornithidae
An extinct oilbird — the only extinct member of a family that today includes just one living species.
The family Steatornithidae contains only two birds: the extinct P. nivea and the living Steatornis caripensis. S. caripensis is found in tropical and subtropical regions of northern South America, Central America, and Trinidad. Its diet consists mostly of palm fruits, and it is the only herbivorous bird in the order Caprimulgiformes. It nests in caves and uses echolocation to navigate, much like bats.
Species text: National Park Service, Fossil Butte National Monument — Fossil Bird Species.