Bird name:

Lesser Nighthawk

Chordeiles acutipennis

Order

CAPRIMULGIFORMES

Family

Nighthawks and Nightjars (Caprimulgidae)

Code 4

LENI

Code 6

CHOACU

ITIS

177988

Breeding Location:

Lowlands

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Loose colonies

Breeding Population:

Fairly common

Egg Color:

White to gray with gray, brown and lavender spots

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

18 - 19

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

No nest materials.

Migration:

Migratory

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General

Lesser Nighthawk: Medium-sized nightjar with gray and white mottled upperparts, white throat, and brown and white mottled underparts with dark belly bars. Wings are dark with conspicuous pale patches visible in flight. Tail is dark brown and has thin white bars across top. Female has pale brown throat and spots on inner primaries. Juvenile has buff throat and smaller wing bars.

Range and Habitat

Lesser Nighthawk: Uncommon in parts of California and Nevada, more common in southern New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. Prefers large open areas, including arid and semi-arid lowlands.

Breeding and Nesting

Lesser Nighthawk: Two white to gray eggs, spotted with gray, brown and lavender, are laid on the ground among small pebbles, with no nesting material used. Incubation ranges from 18 to 19 days and is carried out mostly by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Lesser Nighthawk: Diet includes small insects such as winged ants, mosquitoes, beetles, moths, and grasshoppers; forages by flying close to the ground, catching insects in the air; nocturnal, feeds late into the morning.

Vocalization

Lesser Nighthawk: On breeding grounds, makes a rapid, tremulous trill "chack, chack." Also gives a number of eerie, toad-like calls.

Similar Species

Lesser Nighthawk: Common and Antillean nighthawks have white patches closer to the bend of the wings.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Inner primaries

The inner primaries are a group of feathers closest to the body on the wing of the bird. They are generally covered partially by the secondaries.

Primaries

The primaries are the flight feathers specialized for flight. They are attached to the "hand" equivalent part of the wing.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America