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Bird name:

Lesser Nighthawk

Chordeiles acutipennisOrder: CAPRIMULGIFORMES Family: Nighthawks and Nightjars (Caprimulgidae)
Codes: Common Name: LENI Scientific Name: CHOACU ITIS Taxonomic No.: 177988
Lesser Nighthawk Head Illustration

Head

Topo Map: Perching-like Head
  • Bill Shape: All-purpose
  • Eye Color: Brown with reflective green or red.
  • Head Pattern: Eyeline, Eyering (complete or broken), Spotted, Special (unique patterns or features)
  • Crown Color: Mottled pale gray, black, buff and red-brown.
  • Forehead Color: Mottled pale gray, black, buff and red-brown.
  • Nape Color: Mottled pale gray, black, buff and red-brown.
  • Throat Color: White
  • Cere color: No Data
Splitbar

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Lesser Nighthawk Body Illustration

Body

Topo Map: Perching-like Body
  • Length Range: 20-23 cm (8-9 in)
  • Weight: 51 g (1.8 oz)
  • Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
  • Color: White, Brown, Black, Gray, Buff
  • Underparts: Dark brown with white barring.
  • Upperparts: Mottled pale gray, black, buff and red-brown.
  • Back Pattern: Mottled
  • Belly Pattern: Barred or banded
  • Breast Pattern: Spotted or speckled, Striped or streaked
Lesser Nighthawk Flight Illustration

Flight

Topo Map: Perching-like Flight
  • Flight Pattern: Darting flight on long pointed wings with erratic twists and turns and changes of direction.
  • Wingspan Range: 51-58 cm (20-23 in)
  • Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Squared Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Barred
  • Upper Tail: Dark gray, brown and black.
  • Under Tail: Dark gray and white barring.
  • Leg Color: Pale Brown
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Family Nightjar (Caprimulgidae)_blue
Species Chordeiles acutipennis
Length8 - 9 Inches
Wingspan21.5 Inches

Lesser Nighthawk

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. Darting erratic flight.

● Song: "chack, chack"

● Foraging & 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.

● Breeding & 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.

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

Flight Pattern

Darting flight on long pointed wings with erratic twists and turns and changes of direction.
Lesser Nighthawk Body Illustration
● Range & 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.
BreedingMonogamous, Loose colonies
PopulationFairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.8 Ounces
Perching-like HeadX
Perching-like BodyX
Perching-like FlightX
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

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.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX