Sombre Nightjar vs Lesser Nighthawk

Caprimulgus fraenatus comparado con Chordeiles acutipennis

Side-by-Side Comparison

Atributo Sombre Nightjar Lesser Nighthawk
Nombre científico Caprimulgus fraenatus Chordeiles acutipennis
Orden Caprimulgiformes Caprimulgiformes
Familia Caprimulgidae Caprimulgidae
Estado de conservación Least Concern Least Concern
Longitud
Envergadura 32,4 cm (12.8 in) 33,0 cm (13.0 in)
Peso 60,0 g (2.12 oz) 50,0 g (1.76 oz)
Dieta Feeds at night on flying insects including moths and beetles; hunts with buoyant erratic flight … Hawks small flying insects at dusk and dawn over North and South American arid scrub …
Tamaño de la puesta 1-2 1-2
Population Trend

Habitat Comparison

Hábitats compartidos

Ninguno

Sombre Nightjar only

Lesser Nighthawk only

Song & Call Comparison

Sombre Nightjar

Canto

Monotonous churring trill; repetitive 'churr' at moderate tempo from East African scrub; lower-pitched and less musical than some relatives; calls persistently at night

Lesser Nighthawk

Canto

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

Geographic Range & Migration

Sombre Nightjar

Found across East Africa from Ethiopia and Somalia south to Tanzania. Resident in dry acacia scrub, thornbush, and arid savanna at low elevations.

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.

Estado de conservación

Least Concern

Sombre Nightjar

Least Concern

Lesser Nighthawk

How to Tell Them Apart

Sombre Nightjar

Plumaje

Uniformly dark sooty-brown upperparts with dense blackish vermiculations; pale buff supercilium and narrow white submoustachial stripe; underparts barred buff and dark brown. Sexes similar.

Lesser Nighthawk

Plumaje

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 …

About These Birds

Sombre Nightjar

Chotacabras de freno de 22–25 cm, habita en los matorrales áridos y las sabanas del noreste de África.

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.

More Birds to Explore

Explore the Nature FYI Family