Least Nighthawk
Chordeiles pusillus
Small nightjar of savannas and dry forests, where it forages for insects with characteristic erratic flight like other nighthawks. Key field mark is contrasting pale trailing edge of wings. Often seen in large groups at dusk; when foraging with other species, Least is noticeably smaller. Least Nighthawks and related nighthawks are told from other nightjars by active foraging behavior. Roosts during the day on ground or in small savanna trees.
Identification
The least nighthawk is 15 to 25 cm (5.9 to 9.8 in) long, making it one of the smallest species in family Caprimulgidae. Two females weighed 27.8 and 33.4 g (0.98 and 1.18 oz) The general plumage pattern is brown upperparts with gray, rufous, and buff spots, and whitish or buff underparts with brown bars. The throat has a narrow white patch or small white patches on either side of it. The four outermost primaries have a white band that is highly visible in flight. Males also have white tips on some other wing feathers. The subspecies vary in size, colors, and the extent of the barring on the underparts.
Taxonomy
Early in the 20th century the least nighthawk was assigned to its own genus, Nannochordeiles, but since the middle of the century has been included in Chordeiles. It has these six subspecies:<p>Two specimens from northeastern Argentina might represent a seventh subspecies.
- Scientific name
- Chordeiles pusillus
- Authority
- Gould, 1861
- Order
- Caprimulgiformes
- Family
- Caprimulgidae
- Genus
- Chordeiles
Range and habitat
The six subspecies of least nighthawk are distributed thus. The subspecies of the two records in Argentina has not been determined.<p>The least nighthawk typically inhabits open savanna or subtropical grassland, both cerrado and caatinga. In elevation it ranges from sea level up to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Some populations of least nighthawk appear to be migratory but the data are inconclusive.<p>The least nighthawk is an aerial insectivore, taking prey of many insect orders. It hunts at dawn and late in dusk and tends to stay near the ground. It hunts in solitary, in pairs, or in small loose groups. Its flight has been described as "buoyant, quick, and erratic with many sudden shifts in direction".<p>Very little is known about the least nighthawk's breeding phenology. Its nesting season appears to vary within its range. It lays one egg directly on the ground.<p>The least nighthawk's flight call has been variously described as "a low churr and a weak nasal beep or week" and as "a short, sharp whit or bit". It sings from the ground or a bush, "a fast cur-cur-cur-curry (or chu-chu-chu-chu-chuEE).
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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