Members of the nightjar family (Caprimulgidae) are spectacularly odd and curious birds, represented by about 90 species worldwide. Closely related to owls, nightjars are denizens of twilight and moonlit nights, often observed in erratic yet graceful flight while pursuing insect prey. North America hosts 10 species of nightjars, all of which range into the United States. Today we’ll explore the nightjar family, with brief profiles of these species.
Nightjars are among my favorite birds. Each summer, Common Nighthawks grace our property with their nasal peents and acrobatic flights. So beloved are they, we named our street in their honor. In August of 2013, my husband and I camped in the remote Steens Mountains, a sky island mountain range in southeast Oregon. That week we witnessed an incredible phenomenon: the migration of several thousand Common Nighthawks heading toward wintering grounds in South America. I feel a strong earthly and spiritual bond to these enigmatic birds and wanted to share that with you today.
Nightjar Lore
The name “nightjar” is derived from the European Nightjar, a species so shrouded in superstition its family and genus name (Caprimulgus) comes from the Latin for “milker of goats” — based on a 1st century AD myth that nightjars used their gaping mouths to suckle goats. The “jarring” from which they take their name (more commonly called “churring”) is an eerie, undulating trill straight out of a sci-fi movie. The strange songs of nightjars have inspired both macabre and charming folktales from around the globe. In Sulawesi, an Indonesian island east of Borneo, the Satanic Nightjar (Eurostopodus diabolicus) was thought to feast on the eyes of sleeping people; its nocturnal call was believed to be its hapless victims’ screams. A bit less gruesome, in parts of the southeast U.S. it was once thought that the number of times a Whip-poor-will sang in succession foretold the number of years a fellow would remain a bachelor.
Nightjar Family Characteristics
Nightjars are small to medium-sized nocturnal and crespuscular (active in twilight) birds with a large head, short neck, small bill, large gape and eyes, long wings and tail, short legs, and small feet with comb-like serrations on the claw of the middle toes.
Nightjar plumages are cryptically colored in shades of brown, gray, buff, tawny, or rufous and are often beautifully patterned with bars, streaks, and dappled blotches.
The Caprimulgidae family is divided in two subfamilies, the true nightjars (Caprimulginae) and the nighthawks (Chordeilinae), distinguished in part by the absence of “rictal” bristles (bristles at the rictus, or gape, of a bird’s mouth) in nighthawks.
Nightjars are insectivores, swooping and darting through the sky in pursuit of moths, mosquitos, grasshoppers, and other large flying insects. They rely on their sensitive vision, ideally suited for the dim light of twilight or moonlit nights, to help them detect and catch airborne prey.
Nightjars feed by flying straight into insects with their capacious mouth and throat wide open at speeds clocked at 12–35 mph! Their small, weak bills and feet are not used to grasp or subdue prey. As strict insectivores, many nightjar species are migratory, moving from tropical climes to northerly or southerly latitudes only after temperatures and insect numbers become favorable.
Nightjars are ground-nesting birds, laying eggs directly on the ground or in a slight scrape in the soil with no supporting nesting substrate. Studies have shown that the highly cryptic plumage of adults, and their habit of remaining motionless as threats approach, provides nightjars with their primary defense against detection by predators.
Nightjar habitats share global similarities. Birds prefer a mix of open areas for foraging and cover for hidden roosting areas in daytime. Habitats also include favorite perches, such as posts, stumps, rock piles, or bare ground, from which nightjars sally out to feed.
Nightjars of the U.S.
Nightjars can be frustrating subjects for birders given their cryptic habits. One of the best ways to identify nightjars is their song, which is usually simple, loud, and repetitive. Some U.S. nightjars are referred to as “feathered onomatopoeias” for clearly annunciating their common name…Whip-poor-will, Chuck-will’s-widow, Poorwill. Nighthawks, too, have very distinct songs and calls — and in the case of the Common Nighthawk — a booming sound made by the male’s primary feathers in courtship flight. The following are overviews of 10 U.S. nightjar species with links to species accounts and strategies and tips for finding and viewing them.
Lesser Nighthawk (Chordeiles acutipennis)
ID tips: Small nighthawk with blunt, rounded wings and fairly long, notched tail. A broad white or buffy blaze across outermost primaries distinguishes from other nighthawks.
Sounds: A rapid, tremulous trill from ground perches.
Range: Fairly common in southwest US; resident to medium-distance migrant; found in scrubland and desert; very rare spring and fall migrant on Gulf Coast.
Where to watch: Found in open, arid habitats including desert scrub, dry grassland, desert washes. Where it overlaps with Common Nighthawk in the SW, Lesser is more common at lower elevations and in drier country.
Birding strategy: Best viewing is just before dusk. Look for an area that provides an expansive view of both desert ground and sky, such as a dry wash or sparsely vegetated creosote flat. Lessers tend to fly low to the ground. Watch for dark forms moving buoyantly over tops of low plants. Check street lights for swarming insects.
Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)
ID tips: Medium-sized, slender bird with long, pointed wings with white blazes located closer to the bend in the wings.
Sounds: Give a nasal peent or beer call while flying or perched. During breeding season, courting males make a rushing, “booming” sound by flexing their wings while diving, making air rush through the primaries. Booming noise and bat-like flight give this nighthawk its colloquial name “bullbat.”
Range: Fairly common in parts of its broad range, but declining in the East. A long-distance migrant, wintering mostly in South America. Often migrates in flocks numbering in the 100s.
Where to watch: Found in open or semi-open terrain, including clearings in forest, open pine woods, prairies, farmland, suburbs, and city centers.
Birding strategy: Easiest to see in flight at dawn and dusk as they forage for aerial insects. Pick a high overlook with a good view of a river, if possible. In towns, look for nighthawks over brightly lit areas such as billboards, stadium lights, and streetlights. Listen for low, buzzy peent calls. If you are in an area with breeding nighthawks, pay attention for the bizarre booming noise of their territorial/courtship flight.
Antillean Nighthawk (Chordeiles gundlachii)
ID tips: Difficult to distinguish from Common Nighthawk, but smaller and shorter-winged; blaze across primaries averages closer to the wingtip. Best distinguished by its call.
Sounds: A dry pity-pit-pit flight call, often repeated. Also makes a “rushing” or “booming” sound like the courtship display of the Common Nighthawk, but much quieter.
Range: Breeds on islands of the Caribbean and southernmost Florida, including Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas. Winter range poorly known.
Where to watch: In Florida, concentrated around undeveloped open ground, such as airports, vacant lots, and fields. In the Caribbean, inhabits semi-open terrain including beaches, open woods, fields, and farmland.
Birding strategy: Set up at an open overlook at dusk to watch for aerial foraging; listen for distinct call.
Common Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis)
ID tips: A large nighthawk with long, rounded tail and shorter, rounder wings. Broad white bands on wings distinguish it from other nightjars. Males have conspicuous white tail patches. Chestnut ear patch.
Sounds: Song is a loud burry whistle, purr-WEEE-eer.
Range: Widespread throughout American tropics; reaches the U.S. only in very southern Texas. Year-round resident, but less conspicuous in winter.
Where to watch: In Texas, most common in woodlands, tall brush, and dense river thickets, foraging along edges and over adjacent open fields. In American tropics, widespread in semi-open habitats, mainly in lowlands.
Birding strategy: Set up at dusk or dawn, also on moonlit nights. Observe for low-to-ground flight along edges of woods or watch for eyeshine of birds perched on branches, posts, or ground. Listen for distinct song during breeding season.
Chuck-will’s-widow (Caprimulgus carolinensis)
ID tips: Our largest nightjar (12” L) with a big, flat head and rounded wings. Most are redder than Eastern Whip-poor-will. Inner webs of three outer tail feathers are white.
Sounds: Song a loud chuck-will's-widow, with the first chuck being inaudible at a distance.
Range: Primarily in southeastern states but as far north as Long Island and as far west as central Oklahoma and Texas; some winter in Florida but most winter in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, and northern South America.
Where to watch: Favors open and drier pine woodlands, especially longleaf pine communities. Seeks out open areas, clearcuts, recent burns, clearings, pasture, or dunes within pine forests.
Birding strategy: Use breeding bird surveys and recent sightings to narrow searches. Walk through campsites, logging roads, and borders between open ground and undergrowth in pine-dominated woods, listening for calling birds.
Eastern Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferous)
ID tips: A round-headed nightjar with a stout chest. Dark throat contrasts with white or buffy necklace; male’s tail has much more white in outer feathers than Chuck-will’s-widow.
Sounds: The male’s emphatic, chanted whip-poor-will, sometimes repeated for hours on end, is a classic sound of warm summer nights in the countryside of the East.
Range: Southern Canada from Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia and most of the eastern U.S. Many winter in southeastern states; others migrate south to Central America and the West Indies.
Where to watch: Occurs alongside Chuck-will’s-widow throughout much of range but favors more closed, hardwood forests with little underbrush. More closely tied to riparian areas than poor-wills and Buff-collared Nightjar. Proximity to open areas is important. Locations with agriculture and pastureland bordered by mature hardwood forest are good, as well as openings along quiet roadsides, abandoned lots, and trails.
Birding strategy: In more closed habitats, following calling birds is crucial. Listen on nights with at least a half-moon, full moon being ideal. Walk through fields along border with forest, scanning for eyeshine. Whip-poor-wills also roost in trees and hunt from favored perches. Search higher in trees than you do for other nightjars.
Mexican Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus arizonae)
ID tips: Appearance is very similar to Eastern Whip-poor-will; best separated by voice.
Sounds: A loud, rhythmic whip-poor-will, repeated over and over at night.
Range: Central and S. California, S. Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and W. Texas.
Where to watch: Favors high-elevation pine-oak and juniper woodlands in the Southwest, generally at elevations ≥1500 ft. Look for exposed perches at natural edges and bare patches of ground between clusters of trees.
Birding strategy: Listen along road cuts, clearings, and hilltops for distinctive call, similar to Eastern Whip-poor-will but burrier with longer syllables. Follow the song, checking for eyeshine.
Buff-collared Nightjar (Caprimulgus ridgwayi)
ID tips: Distinct buff collar across nape; otherwise like whip-poor-wills, but paler and more finely marked. No other low-desert nightjar perches so frequently on top of trees to hunt and sing.
Sounds: Song is a staccato cu-cu-cu-cuc-cuc-cuc-uh-chee-ah heard at night.
Range: Rare and irregular in only a few desert canyons of southern Arizona and New Mexico. Extremely local and isolated.
Where to watch: Prefers arid, open woodlands, sides of canyons, and dry forest/desert edge.
Birding strategy: The few pairs that reside in the U.S. are heavily monitored. Check with refuge staff, birding groups, USFS researchers, and rare-bird reports to locate resident birds.
Common Poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii)
ID tips: Our smallest nightjar (7-3/4” L), large-headed and small-bodied with a short tail. On perched birds, the wingtips reach the tail tip.
Sounds: Male’s song during breeding season is a repeated, whistled poorwillip ; final syllable is difficult to hear at any distance.
Range: Breeds across the arid west; found year round in parts of California, Arizona, and Texas.
Where to watch: Favors dry, shrubby prairies and desert. Focus on areas around rocky outcroppings, gullies and washes, borders where woods meet open country, or thickets of dense scrub. Recent burns are excellent. Bare and exposed ground is crucial.
Birding strategy: Poorwills can winter farther north and arrive on breeding grounds earlier than most nightjars. Start searching around the full moon in late April and May. At dusk, drive slowly up gravel roads, pausing to listen near rocky areas.
Puerto Rican Nightjar (Antrostomus noctitherus) —ESA Endangered
ID tips: A small nightjar; males have a black throat bordered by a white band and a wide, white band along the outer edges of its tail.
Sounds: Song described as an emphatic, regularly repeated whip, whip, whip.
Range: Endemic to southwestern Puerto Rico regions of Guánica and Susúa; non-migratory.
Where to watch: Coastal dry and lower cordillera forest reserves with mature, closed-canopy forest. Leaf litter from deciduous trees/shrubs required for nesting. A majority of suitable habitats are in privately-owned tracts near these reserves. Access is very restricted.
Status: The Puerto Rican Nightjar was already listed as endangered due to deforestation and fragmentation of mature forest habitats before Hurricane Maria plowed into the island with sustained 160 mph winds. Mind-boggling damage must have been done to this species’ habitat; impacts to its population post-Maria are being assessed.
Nightjar conservation
Because of their secretive and nocturnal habits, nightjars are notoriously difficult to survey and many basic aspects of their life history and population status remain unknown. Ornithologists have come to share a general sense that North American nightjar populations are dramatically declining from combined threats, including pesticide use, habitat loss, and climate change. For long-distance migrants such as Common Nighthawks, will changing climates disrupt their ability to “match" reproduction with peaks in food availability?
Nocturnal and crepuscular birds are poorly sampled in standardized surveys like the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, which are conducted during daylight (albeit starting before sunrise). A standardized survey for nightjars was needed to help determine the scope and scale of population changes so a course of conservation action can be determined.
Enter the Nightjar Survey Network (NSN), a program created by the Center for Conservation Biology to introduce this standardized approach. NSN relies entirely on volunteers to conduct nightjar surveys across the U.S. Participation is easy: drive a 9-mile route once per year; make 10 stops along the route counting all nightjars seen or heard; and report data to NSN. Consider signing up for a route here!
Do nightjars occur in your area? Which species?
The floor is open for any birdy observations, adventures, or tidbits of wisdom to share with the flock!