The collared nightjar was formally described in 1871 by the English zoologist George Gray with the binomial nameCaprimulgus enarratus based on a specimen collected in Madagascar.[3][4] The specific epithet is Latin meaning "explained in detail".[5]
A molecular phylogenetic study by Kin-Lan Han and collaborators published in 2010 found that the collared nightjar was not closely related to any other species of nightjar. The authors therefore introduced a new genus Gactornis to accommodate the species. The genus name combines the four single letter abbreviations for the DNA nucleotides (G, A, C, T for guanine, adenine, cytosine, thymine) and the Ancient Greek word ornis meaning "bird".[6] The species in monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[7]
^Cleere, N. (1999). "Family Caprimulgidae (Nightjars)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 5: Barn-owls to Hummingbirds. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 302-387 [376]. ISBN978-84-87334-25-2.
^Jobling, James A. "Gactornis". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
^Han, K.-L.; Robbins, M.B.; Braun, M.J. (2010). "A multi-gene estimate of phylogeny in the nightjars and nighthawks (Caprimulgidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55 (2): 443–453. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.023.
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