Nightjars

Common Nighthawk

Falkennachtschwalbe

Chordeiles minor

Nightjars4 photosFirst seen: 4 August 2026

The Common Nighthawk is a long-winged nightjar with a white patch across each wing. It is most active around dawn and dusk, when it catches flying insects over open country and towns. The bird rests lengthwise on branches or directly on the ground during the day. Eggs are laid on bare ground, gravel roofs or other open surfaces without a constructed nest. Males produce a booming sound with their wings during display dives.

ID tip: A slim, long-winged, bat-like flier at dusk with a bounding, erratic beat; the white band across the outer wing is the clincher and separates it from any falcon or swallow.

First seen: 4 August 2026 · Packwood · 4 photos in the collection.

Places in my records

Locations where this species is supported by a dated first record, an unambiguous single-place outing or a reviewed assignment.

Packwood4 August 2026

Family: Nightjars (Caprimulgidae)
Length: 22–25 cm
Wingspan: 51–61 cm
Regional status: Summer visitor (Pacific Northwest, USA)
Conservation: Least Concern LCIUCN Red List · retrieved 27 August 2026
Habitat: Open airspace over forest, town and grassland; hunts at dusk
Diet: Flying insects, caught on the wing at dawn and dusk

Built from verified occurrence records, not drawn by hand. Core range = the countries holding 99% of all records; the rest are scattered or vagrant records. Record counts track where people watch birds as much as where the birds are, so the map shows presence, not abundance. Data: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). Basemap: Natural Earth.

Common Nighthawk

Places in my records

Selected photographs