Puerto Rican Nightjar vs Lesser Nighthawk

Antrostomus noctitherus verglichen mit Chordeiles acutipennis

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Merkmal Puerto Rican Nightjar Lesser Nighthawk
Wissenschaftlicher Name Antrostomus noctitherus Chordeiles acutipennis
Ordnung Caprimulgiformes Caprimulgiformes
Familie Caprimulgidae Caprimulgidae
Erhaltungsstatus Vulnerable Least Concern
Länge
Flügelspannweite 26,5 cm (10.4 in) 33,0 cm (13.0 in)
Gewicht 35,99 g (1.27 oz) 50,0 g (1.76 oz)
Ernährung Catches large flying insects, especially moths, at night over Puerto Rican dry limestone forest; endangered. Hawks small flying insects at dusk and dawn over North and South American arid scrub …
Gelegegröße 1-2 1-2
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

Gemeinsame Lebensräume

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Puerto Rican Nightjar only

Lesser Nighthawk only

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Song & Call Comparison

Puerto Rican Nightjar

Gesang

Sharp 'took' or 'took-WHEEER'; distinctive two-note call; calls from dry coastal forest of Puerto Rico; endangered; calls less frequently than mainland relatives

Lesser Nighthawk

Gesang

Loud purring trill; buzzy 'brrrrr' given in flight; lower and softer than Common Nighthawk; males display with booming wingbeats; calls at dusk over deserts

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Geographic Range & Migration

Puerto Rican Nightjar

Endemic to Puerto Rico; critically endangered resident of karst limestone scrub and dry forest in the southwestern part of the island.

Lesser Nighthawk

Breeds in open arid scrub from southwestern USA south through Central America to western South America; winters in Mexico and northern South America.

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Erhaltungsstatus

Vulnerable

Puerto Rican Nightjar

Least Concern

Lesser Nighthawk

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How to Tell Them Apart

Puerto Rican Nightjar

Gefieder

Small; grey-brown and buff mottled above with dark vermiculations; white gorget in male; pale buff barred underparts; white outer tail spots in male; buff tail in female; critically small range …

Lesser Nighthawk

Gefieder

Brown and buff mottled above; buff-white below with brown barring; white throat in male; white wing bar closer to wingtip than in Common Nighthawk; buff tail band. Female with buff …

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About These Birds

Puerto Rican Nightjar

A small Caprimulgidae nightjar (~36 g) endemic to the dry limestone coastal scrub of southwestern Puerto Rico. Cryptically patterned grey-brown. Restricted to a tiny area of suitable habitat; population estimated at a few hundred pairs. Feeds on insects at night. Vulnerable from habitat conversion and introduced predators.

Lesser Nighthawk

A small Caprimulgidae nighthawk (~50 g) of deserts, semi-arid scrub, and open woodland from the southwestern United States to Peru and Brazil. Brown-and-buff patterned; males have a white throat bar. Low, buoyant flight close to the ground at dusk. Hunts insects aerially. Migratory; Least Concern.

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