Hawk nightjar
| Hawk nightjar | ||||||||||
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Falcon Nightjar ( Chordeiles minor ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Chordeiles minor | ||||||||||
| ( JR Forster , 1771) |
The night hawk ( Chordeiles minor ), also known as the night hawk, is one of the most famous American summer birds . She is famous for her dips and zigzags.
features
Falcon nightjars are about eight inches long and have a wingspan of about 59 to 68 cm, while their weight is about 65 grams. In addition to the irregular zigzag flight, they are characterized by their narrow and pointed wings , which have a white band. The plumage is dark brown or gray with a brown pattern. In the male the throat is white, in the female it is yellowish brown. The plumage of the young birds is even paler, the throat is less noticeably colored. Males also have a white tail band. The beak looks exceptionally small when closed, but can be opened wide when hunting prey.
Way of life
Falcon nightjars live in pairs during the breeding season and in troops during migration . You often see several couples living together in the immediate vicinity. Although their name suggests that they are nocturnal, they are not outspoken night birds. Only when the young have not received enough food do they hunt at night. They usually go on the prowl in the early morning and evening. They are often found in lowlands , especially on open grasslands and coniferous forests . Their life expectancy is up to 6 years.
food
Their diet consists mainly of flying insects such as winged ants , beetles , butterflies and grasshoppers . They are very popular with farmers because they kill many pests . They like to hunt over open areas such as lakes, rivers and meadows. They are very agile hunters and often catch insects in a dive . The attached wings make a noise that sounds like blowing your mouth against the opening of an empty bottle.
Reproduction
The breeding season of the falcon nightjar lasts from mid-May to mid-July. After mating, the female lays 2 grayish white, strong purple and brown piebald eggs , which are not placed in a nest , but on the bare rock or in a small hollow in the ground. A nest would be more noticeable on the dry, rocky ground. They never nest in the shade, as the eggs would not be so well camouflaged due to their coloring in damp places. Sometimes, however, they also lay their eggs in wooden roof niches in cities. If the clutch is destroyed, another clutch follows. The male guards the nesting place with patrol flights and often defends the clutch at the risk of his life. After a breeding period of 14 to 16 days, the young birds hatch and remain in the nest for about 20 days. They reach sexual maturity a year later.
distribution
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Their breeding grounds are in North and Central America , from the extreme southeastern tip of Alaska to south of Panama . They winter in South America from Colombia to Argentina .
Subspecies
So far, nine subspecies are known:
- Chordeiles minor minor ( Forster, JR , 1771) occurs from central and southern Canada to the central and eastern area of the USA.
- Chordeiles minor hesperis Grinnell , 1905 is distributed from southwest Canada through the western United States.
- Chordeiles minor sennetti Coues , 1888 occurs in the south-central area of Canada, and the central and north-central area of the USA.
- Chordeiles minor howelli Oberholser , 1914 is common in the western central part of the USA.
- Chordeiles minor henryi Cassin , 1855 occurs in the southwestern United States and north-central Mexico.
- Chordeiles minor aserriensis Cherrie , 1896 is common in southeast Texas and northeast Mexico.
- Chordeiles minor chapmani Coues , 1888 occurs in the southeastern United States.
- Chordeiles minor neotropicalis Selander & Álvarez del Toro , 1955 is common in eastern and southern Mexico.
- Chordeiles minor panamensis Eisenmann , 1962 occurs from Belize and Honduras to Panama.
literature
- John Cassin: Illustrations of the birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America. : Intended to contain descriptions and figures of all North American birds not given by former American authors, and a general synopsis of North American ornithology . JB Lippincott & Co., JB Lippincott & Co 1862 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
- George Kruck Cherrie: An Apparently New Chordeiles from Costa Rica . In: The Auk . tape 13 , no. 2 , 1896, p. 135–136 (English, sora.unm.edu [PDF; 81 kB ]).
- Elliott Coues: New Forms of North American Chordiles . In: The Auk . tape 5 , no. 1 , 1888, p. 37 (English, sora.unm.edu [PDF; 43 kB ]).
- Eugene Eisenmann: Notes on nighthawks of the genus Chordeiles in southern Middle America, with a description of a new race of Chordeiles minor breeding in Panamá . In: American Museum novitates . No. 2094 , 1962, pp. 1–21 ( digitallibrary.amnh.org [PDF; 2.0 MB ]).
- Johann Reinhold Forster: A catalog of the animals of North America. Containing, an enumeration of the known Quadrupeds, Birds, Reptiles, Fish, Insects, Crustaceous and Testaceous animals; many of which are new, and never described before. To which are added short Directions for Collecting, Preserving, and Transporting, all Kinds of Natural History Curiosities . B. White, London 1773 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
- Joseph Grinnell: The Pacific Nighthawk . In: The Condor . tape 7 , no. 6 , 1905, pp. 170 (English, sora.unm.edu [PDF; 83 kB ]).
- Harry Church Oberholser : A Monograph of the Genus Chordeiles Swainson, Type of a New Family of Goatsuckers . In: Bulletin - United States National Museum. No. 86 , 1914, pp. 1-120 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).
- Robert Keith Selander, Miguel Alvarez Del Toro: A New Race of Booming Nighthawk from Southern Mexico . In: The Condor . tape 57 , no. 3 , 1955, pp. 144–147 (English, sora.unm.edu [PDF; 285 kB ]).
Web links
- Chordeiles minor in the Red List of Threatened Species of IUCN , 2015. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved on February 2, 2016th
- English info page with pictures
- Falcon nightjar feathers
Individual evidence
- ↑ IOC World Bird List frogmouths, oilbird, potoos, nightjars
- ↑ Johann Reinhold Forster (1771), p. 13.
- ↑ Joseph Grinnell (1905), p. 170.
- ↑ a b Elliott Coues (1888), p. 37.
- ^ Harry Church Oberholser (1914), pp. 25 & 57.
- ^ John Cassin (1855), p. 239.
- ↑ George Kruck Cherrie (1896), p. 136.
- ^ Robert Keith Selander (1955) and a., pp. 144-147.
- ↑ Eugene Eisenmann (1962), p. 4f.