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Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor Family: Caprimulgidae (Night jars - not even related to hawks)  |
Description: Basically a heavily barred or spotted dark brown bird with a white throat. When in flight, look for the angled pointed wings with the white wing bars midway from the bend in the wing to the tips of the primary feathers. There is also a distinctive white bar across the two lobes of the long notched tail. Hunts at night for insects flying with a choppy wingbeat. Nesting: The Common Nighthawk builds no nest; eggs are laid on gravel ground or gravel roofs. Reports suggest that birds incubating their single brood of 2 eggs position their body with the sun at their back all day. On cloudy days they have no preference as to which direction they face. The egg shells, like the gravel they are laid on, are cream to pale gray with brown and gray mottling or blurred speckles. Range: (May - September) Summers almost everywhere in North and Central America. Winters in most of South America, except for southern Argentina.
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