• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Local Navigation
  • Skip to Search
  • Skip to Sitemap
  • Skip to Footer
Help develop a Bird ID tool!

Common Nighthawk

Chordeiles minor ORDER: CAPRIMULGIFORMES FAMILY: CAPRIMULGIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

  • Related Species
  • Go to:

Pursuing flying insects at dusk and dawn, the Common Nighthawk can be seen flying its floppy flight in rural or urban areas. Its white wing patches and eratic flight make it look like a big bat with headlights, and it is known in some areas as the "bullbat."

Donate to Bird Cams
Get BNA: the definitive resource for North American birds

Appearance

Owl-like
Owl-like
Typical Voice

Adult Description

  • Medium-sized bird.
  • Large-headed with a tiny bill.
  • Very well camouflaged, colored in browns, black, and gray.
  • Barring on chest.
  • In flight, long, pointed, bent wings with white patch near tip.

Immature Description

Immature similar to adult, but paler, with more barring on chest, and with smaller white wing patch.

Range Map Help

Common Nighthawk Range Map
View dynamic map of eBird sightings

Field MarksHelp

  • Adult
    Zoom In

    Common Nighthawk

    Adult
    • Very long, pointed wings
    • Slender body with large head and notched tail
    • Heavily barred underside
    • White bars near tips of wings
    • © Bill Bouton, Modoc NWR, California, June 2010
  • Adult
    Zoom In

    Common Nighthawk

    Adult
    • Distinctive shape in flight with long, pointed wings
    • Slender body with large head
    • Heavily barred underside
    • White throat and white patches near tips of wings
    • © Bruno P., Great Meadows NWR, Massachusetts, August 2009
  • Adult
    Zoom In

    Common Nighthawk

    Adult
    • Heavily marked camouflage pattern above
    • Long, pointed wings with white patch visible
    • Very small bill
    • White throat visible but less obvious on perched birds
    • © Cleber Ferreira, Lake County, Florida, May 2011
  • Adult
    Zoom In

    Common Nighthawk

    Adult
    • Long, pointed wings extend past tip of tail
    • White patch on throat
    • Dark barring on breast and belly
    • Heavily marked above with camouflage pattern
    • © Greg Page, Paul Rushing Park, Texas, April 2010
  • Immature
    Zoom In

    Common Nighthawk

    Immature
    • Heavily patterned above with long, pointed wings
    • Large head with small bill
    • Immature lacks white throat
    • Nest usually hidden among rocks or gravel on rooftops or in open woods
    • © Byard Miller, Keene, New Hampshire, August 2009
  • Adult
    Zoom In

    Common Nighthawk

    Adult
    • Very long, pointed wings with white bars near tips
    • Shorter, notched tail
    • Heavily barred underside
    • White throat
    • © Kim Taylor, Belle Haven Park, Virginia, September 2011
  • Adult
    Zoom In

    Common Nighthawk

    Adult
    • Distinctive shape in flight with long, pointed wings
    • Short, notched tail
    • Heavily barred underside
    • White patches near wing-tips and on throat
    • © J.M. Kosciw, Tolland, Connecticut, August 2011
  • Juvenile
    Zoom In

    Common Nighthawk

    Juvenile
    • Heavily camouflaged
    • Large black eye
    • Small bill
    • © Victor Fazio, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma, June 2004