Common Nighthawk

The Common Nighthawk is a master of aerial insect-hunting, spending much of its active time on the wing at dawn and dusk over open country and even city skies. Despite its name, it is not related to true hawks but is a member of the nightjar family. Its plumage is a beautiful mix of mottled gray, brown, black, and buff that provides superb camouflage when the bird rests motionless on the ground, a branch, or a gravel rooftop during the day. In flight, long, pointed wings show a bold white bar, and the tail is slightly notched.

Key Field Marks

• Long, pointed wings with a bold white bar crossing each wing (males also show a white throat patch and white tail band)
• Cryptic mottled gray-brown-black plumage, excellent camouflage at rest
• Erratic, bat-like flight with sudden dips and turns while hunting insects
• Distinctive nasal, buzzy "peent" call given in flight

Similar Species

• Lesser Nighthawk is smaller, buffier overall, with the wing bar positioned closer to the wingtip, and gives a soft trilling call rather than a nasal peent.
• Common Poorwill and other nightjars lack the long, pointed wings and white wing bar, and fly closer to the ground with more fluttering wingbeats.

Habitat

Common Nighthawks use a wide range of open habitats, including grasslands, forest clearings, burned areas, and, notably, flat gravel rooftops in towns and cities, which mimic their natural open-ground nesting sites.

Range

They breed across most of North America, from northern Canada south through the United States into Mexico and Central America.

Migration

Common Nighthawks are long-distance migrants, wintering in South America, and are frequently observed migrating in loose flocks at dusk in late summer.

Behavior

They are crepuscular and nocturnal foragers, most active at dawn and dusk, catching flying insects on the wing with a wide, gaping mouth.

Voice

The distinctive nasal "peent" call is given in flight; males also produce a deep, resonant booming sound with their wings during steep courtship dives.

Feeding

They feed exclusively on flying insects, including beetles, moths, and flying ants, caught in aerial sallies, sometimes foraging around streetlights that attract insects at night.

Nesting

Common Nighthawks do not build a nest; instead, the female lays her eggs directly on bare ground, gravel, or flat rooftops, relying on cryptic plumage to avoid detection by predators.