[2] The Cayenne nightjar was originally described in 1920 as Nyctipolus maculosus and was later lumped into genus Caprimulgus.

Some authors contended that it is not a species, but a subspecies of blackish nightjar (Nyctipolus nigrescens).

The chin, throat, and upper breast are buff with a chestnut tinge and brown bars.

The individual captured in 1982 differed in minor ways and could have been either a female or an immature male.

[2] The only positively identified Cayenne nightjar was collected at Tamanoir, French Guiana, in 1917.

The 1982 putative female was captured approximately 180 km (110 mi) southeast of that site, and additional possible sight records came from that general area in 1999.