BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Chordeiles minor
Common Nighthawk
| Scientific Name: | Chordeiles minor (Forster, 1771) | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Common Nighthawk | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | B-CONI | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Apr 2016) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S3S5B (Mar 2022) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Blue | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | Special Concern (May 2018) | ||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | 1 - Special Concern (Feb 2023) | ||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2005) | ||||||||||
| Migratory Bird Convention Act: | Y | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | Clutch size 2. Incubation by female, about 19 days. Nestlings semi-precocial, tended by both parents, independent in about 30 days (Harrison 1978). Maximum longevity in the wild is 10 years. | ||||||||||
| Global Ecology Comments: | Interspecifically territorial toward the Antillean nighthawk in the Florida Keys (Ehrlich et al. 1992). | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / N / Y / na / |
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| Global Migration Comments: | Migrates through Costa Rica September-early November and March-April (Stiles and Skutch 1989). In Colombia, uncommon to fairly common fall migrant late August-late November, uncommon to rare in spring migration March-April (Hilty and Brown 1986). | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Agriculture / Cultivated Field / Facultative - occasional use
Agriculture / Hedgerow / Facultative - occasional use Agriculture / Pasture/Old Field / Facultative - occasional use Anthropogenic / Urban/Suburban / Facultative - occasional use Forest / Conifer Forest - Dry / Facultative - frequent use Forest / Conifer Forest - Mesic (average) / Facultative - frequent use Forest / Conifer Forest - Moist/wet / Facultative - frequent use Forest / Deciduous/Broadleaf Forest / Facultative - frequent use Forest / Mixed Forest (deciduous/coniferous mix) / Facultative - frequent use Grassland/Shrub / Antelope-brush Steppe / Facultative - frequent use Grassland/Shrub / Grassland / Facultative - frequent use Grassland/Shrub / Meadow / Facultative - frequent use Grassland/Shrub / Sagebrush Steppe / Facultative - frequent use Lakes / Lake / Facultative - frequent use Lakes / Pond/Open Water / Facultative - frequent use Riparian / Gravel Bar / Facultative - occasional use Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Cliff / Facultative - frequent use Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Facultative - frequent use Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Talus / Facultative - frequent use Stream/River / Stream/River / Facultative - occasional use Wetland / Bog / Facultative - frequent use Wetland / Fen / Facultative - frequent use Wetland / Marsh / Facultative - frequent use Wetland / Swamp / Facultative - frequent use |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | Habitats include mountains and plains in open and semi-open areas: open coniferous forests, savanna, grasslands, fields, vicinity of cities and towns. Nesting occurs on the ground on a bare site in an open area. In some areas, this species also nests on flat gravel roofs of buildings, perhaps related to prey availability at artificial lights. It prefers areas with sandy soil in the southern United States. | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Invertivore: Adult, Immature
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Feeds on flying insects (e.g., mosquitoes, moths, beetles, flies, caddisflies). Forages at night or during the day. Catches insects high in the air or close to the ground. May forage on insects around artificial lights. Young are fed insects by regurgitation. | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: |
Crepuscular: Adult, Immature
Nocturnal: Adult, Immature |
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| Global Phenology Comments: | Most active during the early morning and evening and at night, but may also be seen during the day. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | 24/ / 64 | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Nesting range extends from southern Yukon, southern Mackenzie, northern Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba, northern Ontario, central Quebec, southern Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia south virtually throughout North America to California, south-central Nevada, Arizona, southern Texas, Gulf Coast, and southern Florida in the United States; also Middle America from Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico, south through central Guatemala to western Honduras, and along Atlantic slope locally from Tamaulipas through southern Veracruz, and in Belize, eastern Honduras, northern Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, and possibly in southeastern Colombia in South America (Poulin et al. 1996). During the northern winter the range includes South America south to northern Argentina (Poulin et al. 1996). In migration this species occurs throughout Middle America and the West Indies. |
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| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Hammerson, G. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Mar 17, 2009 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp. |
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Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, et al. 1990b. The Birds of British Columbia Vol. 2: Nonpasserines: Diurnal Birds of Prey through Woodpeckers. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC. |
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COSEWIC. 2007f. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 25pp. |
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Dickerman, R. W. 1990. Geographic variation in the juvenal plumage of the common nighthawk (CHORDEILES MINOR) in North America. Auk 107:610-613. |
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Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1992. Birds in Jeopardy: the Imperiled and Extinct Birds of the United States and Canada, Including Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. 259 pp. |
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Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio. |
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Hilty, S.L. and W. L. Brown. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA. 836 pp. |
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Raffaele, H. A. 1983a. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Fondo Educativo Interamericano, San Juan, Puerto Rico. 255 pp. |
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Stevenson, H. M., et al. 1983. Notes on common and Antillean nighthawks of the Florida Keys. Auk 100:983-988. |
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Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp. |
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Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2009. Species Summary: Chordeiles minor. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Oct 19, 2026).