Recognize this bird?

                                                                                             Photos by Caroline Lambert

COMMON NIGHTHAWK

(Chordeiles minor)

The Common Nighthawk appears to have two faces, depending on how you view it.   In the cropped photo above, it appears as if the nighthawk has a bill with a large, dark eye right behind it.   But what appears to be an eye is actually one of its nostrils (or nares).  In the larger cropped version of the same photo (below), one can see that the nighthawk's true eye is much larger and set farther back from its very small bill.  And while the bill appears small, the nighthawk's mouth is actually very large, allowing it to catch and eat large moths.  These birds are seen most commonly at dawn and dusk, rather than at night, and are the most common and widespread North American nighthawk.   They also occur in Central and South America. 

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace