Mystery Birds: Common Nighthawks, Chordeiles minor

Common Nighthawk - the white wing patches, white throat, pointed wings, and notched tail are my fieldmarks.

To quote BNA: "Adults superficially resemble Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus), Common Poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii), and Chuck-willâs-widow (C. carolinensis), but can be distinguished from these by lack of rictal bristles, presence of white wing patches, different tail pattern, and long, unbarred, pointed wings. Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis) also has white wing patches but is larger, with rounded wing tips and a differently patterned, long, rounded tail."

That's a great photo. Nighthawks are difficult to snap, because their flight is erratic, and they're easiest to spot at dusk. I'm thinking that must have been a fast shutter.

A tough call between the Common Nighthawk and the Lesser Nighthawk. White underwing patches, and white throat are key marks to narrow it to the nighthawks. A difference between the two nighthawks is the placement of the underwing white patches (Lesser Nighthawk closer to wing tips). Also, the undertail feather pattern is different. Given the white patch placement and and undertail feather pattern...I'm voting for Common Nighthawk. I think! :-)

This brings back a wonderful personal memory. In 1944 (I was 3) a nighthawk showed up in our apartment in Monroe LA. My mother called the fire department (my dad was off taking care of the Great Unpleasantness). The firefighters who came caught the bird, identified it and let me touch it before they released it outside. We went to the library that day and read an article about nighthawks.

Good call, Michael. A trio of other field marks -- voice (I know, not much use here, but very useful in the field), range -- Lesser's don't usually make it up the coast to Anahuac -- and one we can definitely use here. According to two of my guides, the spotting visible on the secondaries here continues onto the primaries in Lesser Nighthawk. It also tends to be buffier, and more noticeable on females (these are both males by the white bar at the end of the tail). (Incidentally, Sibley's shows this mark, as well as the variation by sex. Peterson shows what appears to be a female wing of Lesser, and shows clear spotting on the base of the primaries. Nat. Geo. doesn't show any spotting on the primaries for either species. My one photo of a (dead) Lesser shows the spotting, but it appears to be a female -- kind of hard to tell, we pulled that bird off the grill of the truck).