Plain Nightjar vs Lesser Nighthawk

Caprimulgus inornatus comparado con Chordeiles acutipennis

Side-by-Side Comparison

Atributo Plain Nightjar Lesser Nighthawk
Nombre científico Caprimulgus inornatus Chordeiles acutipennis
Orden Caprimulgiformes Caprimulgiformes
Familia Caprimulgidae Caprimulgidae
Estado de conservación Least Concern Least Concern
Longitud
Envergadura 30,6 cm (12.0 in) 33,0 cm (13.0 in)
Peso 45,75 g (1.61 oz) 50,0 g (1.76 oz)
Dieta Feeds nocturnally on moths and large beetles in erratic low-level hunting flights over tropical scrub. Hawks small flying insects at dusk and dawn over North and South American arid scrub …
Tamaño de la puesta 2 1-2
Population Trend

Habitat Comparison

Hábitats compartidos

Plain Nightjar only

Ninguno

Lesser Nighthawk only

Song & Call Comparison

Plain Nightjar

Canto

Monotonous churring trill; steady 'churrrrr' from African savanna; calls persistently at night; plain plumage matched by relatively unvaried, repetitive song

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

Plain Nightjar

Found from Ethiopia and Somalia south to Kenya and Tanzania. Resident in arid acacia scrub and dry open country. Closely related to Nubian Nightjar.

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

Plain Nightjar

Least Concern

Lesser Nighthawk

How to Tell Them Apart

Plain Nightjar

Plumaje

Uniformly plain sandy-grey upperparts with minimal patterning; faint pale supercilium; small whitish throat spot; underparts pale buff with fine barring; among the least boldly marked nightjars, blending into Sahel scrubland.

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

Plain Nightjar

Chotacabras sin adornos de 23–25 cm, habita en las sabanas áridas y el Sahel del África occidental.

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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