Antillean nighthawk
Antillean nighthawk | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Clade: | Strisores |
Order: | Caprimulgiformes |
Family: | Caprimulgidae |
Genus: | Chordeiles |
Species: | C. gundlachii
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Binomial name | |
Chordeiles gundlachii Lawrence, 1857
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The Antillean nighthawk (Chordeiles gundlachii) is a nightjar native to the Caribbean, The Bahamas, and Florida Keys.
Its
Description
The adults are dark with brown, grey and white patterning on the upperparts and breast; the long wings are black and show a white bar in flight. The tail is dark with white barring; the underparts are white with black bars. The adult male has a white throat; the female has a light brown throat. The most distinguishing characteristic to determine its identity from its closest relative the
Habitat and distribution
Their breeding habitat is open country of the
Breeding
The Antillean nighthawk migrates out of its breeding range after raising its young. It still remains unknown where the birds spend the winter. The two eggs are laid directly on bare ground - there is no nest. Incubation is performed largely by the female and lasts for about 20 days. Young fledge at about 20 days of age.
Diet
They catch flying insects on the wing, mainly foraging near dawn and dusk (crepuscular) or sometimes at night with a full moon.
Call
The call is a short pikadik usually heard overhead. The common nighthawk occasionally will make a similar call, but it is not as consistent. In the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the bird is called querequequé, an onomatopoeic term which originates in Taíno.
References
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Perlut, N., and A. Levesque. 2020. Light-level geolocation reveals the migration route and non-breeding location of an Antillean Nighthawk (Chordeiles gundlachii). Journal of Caribbean Ornithology 33:49–53. https://doi.org/10.55431/jco.2020.33.49-53