Species BirdsCommon Nighthawk

Common Nighthawk

Chordeiles minor

CommonBird
Illustration of Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)

The Common Nighthawk is not a hawk at all but a nightjar that forages at dusk and dawn on the wing, performing erratic, buoyant flight to catch flying insects. Males perform dramatic courtship dives at dusk, producing a booming 'vroooom' with their wings as they pull up at the bottom. It has adapted to nesting on flat gravel rooftops in cities.

Habitat
Open country, cities, forests, and rooftops across North America
Diet
Flying insects, especially moths and beetles
How common
Common

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