The Common Nighthawk is not a hawk at all but a member of the nightjar family, most often seen at dusk as it wheels and darts erratically across the sky on long, pointed wings, each marked with a bright white bar near the tip. Wide-mouthed and small-billed, it scoops flying insects out of the air on the wing, coursing over towns, fields, and clearings. By day it roosts on the ground or lengthwise along a branch or fence rail, its mottled gray-brown plumage rendering it nearly invisible.
In the breeding season the male performs a dramatic "booming" display, diving steeply toward the ground and then pulling up so that air rushing through his wingtips produces a deep, hollow whir. Nighthawks nest on bare open ground and, traditionally, on flat gravel rooftops in towns, though the shift to smooth membrane roofs has reduced urban nesting sites and contributed to declines. In Michigan they are warm-season birds, and their migratory flocks streaming south in late summer are a memorable sight.
An aerial insectivore that feeds entirely on flying insects — moths, beetles, flying ants, mosquitoes, and many others — caught in its wide gaping mouth during long foraging flights at dusk and dawn. It often concentrates over lights, water, and insect swarms where prey is dense.
No. Despite the name, the Common Nighthawk is a nightjar, related to whip-poor-wills, not to hawks. It hunts flying insects in the air rather than preying on other animals.
During courtship the male dives steeply and pulls up sharply, and air rushing through his stiff wingtip feathers produces a deep, hollow "boom" or whir at the bottom of the dive.
Loss of nesting habitat is one factor: they traditionally nested on flat gravel rooftops in towns, and the shift to smooth rubberized roofs has removed many urban sites. Declines in flying insects also reduce their food supply.
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