Beak of the Week – Common Nighthawk

By Will McDaniel

The Common Nighthawk is a medium-sized member of the nightjar family ranging from 8.7 to 9.8 inches in length with wingspans between 20 and 24 inches. Excellently camouflaged in drab greys, browns, and blacks that blend into the shadows of tree bark and leaf litter, the nighthawk keeps a literal low profile while at rest with its flattened body shape and horizontal posture. They are most conspicuous in flight, where their forked tails and long, sharply angled wings with white patches help them perform the dramatic aerial maneuvers that help them earn their name. Males can be distinguished by a white bar across their forked tails. Nighthawks are most commonly detected and identified by their distinctive cries, the most common of which is a shrill, nasally peeeet. Males are renowned for their unique ‘booming’ call used to impress females and intimidate foes, usually accompanied by a dramatic dive, and many an unwary intruder has been startled by the geyser-like popping hiss of an unseen female defending their nest.

Nighthawks are crepuscular birds, most active shortly before and after dusk and dawn, though daylight sightings are common in spite of their name. Compensating for their uselessly miniscule beaks with enormous, gaping mouths, Nighthawks snatch flying insects out of the air with great agility and swallow them whole, often congregating near street lights and other artificial light sources such as athletic fields to gorge on the attracted insects. Highly adaptable, Nighthawks can be found any place where bugs are plentiful, from forests and marshes to skyscrapers. Nesting takes place in mid-Spring to early Fall throughout North America from Mexico to Central Canada, after which these otherwise solitary birds flock together in the thousands to migrate south as far as Argentina. Common Nighthawks are a frequent sight above and around the coastal marshes of the Bolivar Peninsula.