Common Nighthawk Superspecies #21 Chordeiles minor Forster       Field Guide IDs: NG-258; G-182; PE-184; PW-pl 38; AE-pl 275; AW-pl 250; AM(Il)-182 Nest Location Nest Type Eggs & Mating System Dev. & Parental Care Primary & 2ndary Diet.. Foraging Strategy NO NEST F-M I: 19 DAYS SEMIPRECOCIAL 2 (1-3) ? F: 21 DAYS MF GROUND GLEAN BREEDING: Open and semiopen habitats esp savanna, grassland, fields, cities and towns. ? broods. DISPLAYS: Courtship often at dusk: male calls, circling, hovering or soaring above intended nest site, swoops down with a pronounced hollow "boom," almost crashing near mate. Boom produced by vibrating primaries. Male lands, spreads tail, rocks body, remains upright near passive female; puffs throat, calls, exposing white throat. Aerial display and booming continue throughout nesting. NEST: If depression apparent, result of sitting adult. Prefer sandy soil in s; also lays eggs on stump, old robin nest, gravel rooftop. EGGS: White/olive, with olive mottling. 1.2" (30 mm). DIET: Young fed regurgitant. CONSERVATION: Winters throughout S.A. to n Argentina. Blue List 1975-86; reported declining in many parts of range. Became common in cities after introduction of gravel roofs in mid-1800s. NOTES: Feeds at dusk, night, and in day. Performs distraction display. Young feed selves by day 25. Largely excluded from desert habitats by Lesser Nighthawk. Interspecifically territorial with Antillean Nighthawk in FL Keys. STANFORD. NOTES: ESSAYS: Blue List; Interspecific Territoriality; Masterbuilders; Nonvocal Sounds; Distraction Displays. REFERENCES: Caccamise, 1974; Stevenson et al., 1983.