Lesser Nighthawk vs Ladder-tailed Nightjar

Chordeiles acutipennis verglichen mit Hydropsalis climacocerca

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Merkmal Lesser Nighthawk Ladder-tailed Nightjar
Wissenschaftlicher Name Chordeiles acutipennis Hydropsalis climacocerca
Ordnung Caprimulgiformes Caprimulgiformes
Familie Caprimulgidae Caprimulgidae
Erhaltungsstatus Least Concern Least Concern
Länge
Flügelspannweite 33,0 cm (13.0 in) 29,9 cm (11.8 in)
Gewicht 50,0 g (1.76 oz) 48,0 g (1.69 oz)
Ernährung Hawks small flying insects at dusk and dawn over North and South American arid scrub … Nocturnal aerial insectivore; hawks insects over Amazonian river margins and forest clearings.
Gelegegröße 1-2 2
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

Gemeinsame Lebensräume

Lesser Nighthawk only

Ladder-tailed Nightjar only

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Song & Call Comparison

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

Ladder-tailed Nightjar

Gesang

Resonant churring trill over Amazonian rivers; 'churr-churr' with hollow quality; calls from riverside sandbars and beaches at dusk; distinctive riverside habitat singer

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Geographic Range & Migration

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.

Ladder-tailed Nightjar

Resident of sandy riverbanks, open woodland, and savanna in the Amazon basin from Colombia and Peru south to Bolivia and central Brazil.

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Erhaltungsstatus

Least Concern

Lesser Nighthawk

Least Concern

Ladder-tailed Nightjar

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How to Tell Them Apart

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 …

Ladder-tailed Nightjar

Gefieder

Male brown and buff mottled above; white throat; graduated tail with white ladder pattern on inner webs of outer rectrices diagnostic; white wing patches. Female has buff throat; tail barred …

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About These Birds

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.

Ladder-tailed Nightjar

A small Caprimulgidae nightjar (~48 g) of rivers, oxbow lakes, and riverine forest edges throughout the Amazon Basin. Males possess white-banded, step-like outer tail feathers giving a ladder appearance. Roosts on branches and sandy banks near water. Feeds on insects at night. Least Concern.

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