Lesser Nighthawk vs Ocellated Poorwill

Chordeiles acutipennis verglichen mit Nyctiphrynus ocellatus

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Merkmal Lesser Nighthawk Ocellated Poorwill
Wissenschaftlicher Name Chordeiles acutipennis Nyctiphrynus ocellatus
Ordnung Caprimulgiformes Caprimulgiformes
Familie Caprimulgidae Caprimulgidae
Erhaltungsstatus Least Concern Least Concern
Länge
Flügelspannweite 33,0 cm (13.0 in) 25,1 cm (9.9 in)
Gewicht 50,0 g (1.76 oz) 38,12 g (1.34 oz)
Ernährung Hawks small flying insects at dusk and dawn over North and South American arid scrub … Nocturnal aerial insectivore; hawks moths and small insects over South American forest interior.
Gelegegröße 1-2 2
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

Gemeinsame Lebensräume

-

Lesser Nighthawk only

Ocellated Poorwill 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

Ocellated Poorwill

Gesang

Soft, repeated 'oo-whirr'; gentle purring whistle from Amazonian forest floor; calls at night from ground perch; quiet and easily overlooked despite continuous calling

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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.

Ocellated Poorwill

Resident of lowland and foothill forest edge, secondary growth, and scrub from Nicaragua south through Panama and northwestern Colombia to Peru.

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Erhaltungsstatus

Least Concern

Lesser Nighthawk

Least Concern

Ocellated Poorwill

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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 …

Ocellated Poorwill

Gefieder

Brown mottled above with distinctive buff and rufous ocellated spots on wing coverts giving spotted appearance; pale buff below with dark barring; white throat in male; small white tail spots; …

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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.

Ocellated Poorwill

A small Caprimulgidae poorwill (~38 g) of lowland and foothill rainforest understorey from Nicaragua through the Amazon Basin. Named for pale ocellate spots on the wing coverts visible at rest. Roosts on or near the ground; feeds on insects nocturnally. Secretive and infrequently recorded. Least Concern.

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