Fun Antillean Nighthawk Facts For Kids

The Antillean nighthawk is a nightjar bird found in a range of places across the North and South American continents. Previously considered conspecific with the common nighthawk, the Antillean nighthawk bird breeds in places like southern Florida, the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and the Lesser & Greater Antilles.

This species of bird is highly migratory and is found in various Caribbean Islands and Puerto Rico.

Antillean nighthawks like to live in open and semi-open arid areas as well as pastures, fields, savannas, farmlands, and towns. The Antillean nighthawk bird forms monogamous and temporary mating bonds and can be territorial during the breeding season.

It is a strong flier and often catches insects midst-flight, most commonly at dawn and dusk.

This bird also lives for four to five years and sometimes makes colonies with common nighthawks. The Antillean nighthawk adult population size of the world is around 200,000 and this bird species is one of Least Concern according to the IUCN.

For more relatable content, check out these golden masked owl facts and black-billed cuckoo facts for kids.

Antillean Nighthawk Interesting Facts

What type of animal is an Antillean nighthawk?

The Antillean nighthawk (Chordeiles gundlachii) is a bird.

What class of animal does an Antillean nighthawk belong to?

The Antillean nighthawk (Chordeiles gundlachii) belongs to the Aves class of animals.

How many Antillean nighthawks are there in the world?

There are about 200,000 mature individuals of the Antillean nighthawk (Chordeiles gundlachii) species left in the world.

Where does an Antillean nighthawk live?

The Antillean nighthawk (Chordeiles gundlachii) is found in the Netherlands Antilles, southern Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, the Island of Pines, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Virgin Islands, Florida Keys, North Carolina, South America, the West Indies, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, the British Virgin Islands, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Honduras, Haiti, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

The bird can be considered endemic to southern Florida, the Florida Keys, and the Caribbean. The breeding range is mostly in the Lesser and Greater Antilles along with the Bahamas and the Florida Keys, but winters in the northern parts of the South American range.

The Antillean nighthawk is a very migratory species. It leaves its breeding range in August and comes back around April.

What is an Antillean nighthawk's habitat?

The Antillean nighthawk (Chordeiles gundlachii) is found in many different types of habitats in its range such as open and semi-open arid areas, fields, pastures, pine barrens, savannas, vacant lots, airports, open woodlands, stumps, gravel roofs, shorelines, towns, and farmlands.

Whom do Antillean nighthawks live with?

Antillean nighthawk birds may be seen alone, in pairs, or in loose colonies.

How long does an Antillean nighthawk live?

Antillean nighthawk birds live for four to five years.

How do they reproduce?

Antillean nighthawk birds reproduce by mating and laying eggs. The breeding season changes with their habitat range but is usually from mid-April to mid-August. A similar species, common nighthawk birds, are seldom found in Antillean nighthawk colonies. The nest is usually on the ground, sand, among pebbles, cavities in rocks, or in gravel.

One or two cryptic-colored eggs are laid by the female. Incubation is done by female birds for 19 days. The chicks are semi precocial and their down feathers are cryptic-colored too.

Adults protect the chicks and also feed them by regurgitating insects from their mouths into the chicks'. Chicks may take insect food from the mouth of the parents too. When threatened, adults are known to perform distracting displays while the chicks adopt a flattened posture and lie motionless on the surface of the ground.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of the Antillean nighthawk bird species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature is Least Concern.

Antillean Nighthawk Fun Facts

What do Antillean nighthawks look like?

Antillean nighthawks are known to occur in two different morphs, tawny and grayish. Adult males of this species have mainly blackish-brown upperparts. There is also extensive spotting that is grayish-white, cinnamon, and buff in color.

The nape has pale spots and is colored brown. The upperwing-coverts have similar colors, being brown overall with variable spots that are pale buff, grayish-white, or cinnamon.

The flight feathers of Antillean nighthawks are also dark brown. They have pointed long wings that have a white patch visible in flight. The brown tail has many dark bars and a subterminal band that is broad and white.

The males have a white throat patch. The underparts have grayish-white barring and are an overall brown color.

The flanks and the belly are buff and barred brown. The dark brown crown has spots that are pale buff. The supercilium is grayish-white, the eyes are a dark brown color, the bill is black, and the feet and legs are brownish.

Females show some differences. The throat patch is buffish instead of white and the white patches on the long wings are less conspicuous. Female birds also do not have the subterminal bar.

Juveniles look like adults, but duller and with shorter tails. They also have underparts that are heavily barred. The throat patches are also spotted and much duller. The flight feathers have narrow white tips and the tails lack the white patch.

How cute are they?

Antillean nighthawks are dazzlingly beautiful birds. The three colors of brown, white, and black adorn their bodies in the most beautiful spotted and barred patterns. They have enchanting shiny, dark brown eyes as well. They sometimes blend in with the ground, looking like big cryptic rocks, and are even more gorgeous in flight.

How do they communicate?

Antillean nighthawks communicate via calls and songs. During courtship and display flights, males give repetitive 'killy-kadick' or 'chitty-chit' calls. There is a nasal Antillean nighthawk call that sounds like 'penk-dik'. During singing, a male's white throat patch puffs out at every call. This is a visual signal to potential female mates and rival birds.

How big is an Antillean nighthawk?

Antillean nighthawks are typically 8 in (20.3 cm) long but can be anywhere between 5-9 in (12.7-22.9 cm) long. They also have wingspans of 20-22 in (51-56 cm). This makes them three to four times smaller than tawny eagles.

How fast can an Antillean nighthawk fly?

The Antillean nighthawk species has an average flying speed of 14.5 mph (23.4 kph).

How much does an Antillean nighthawk weigh?

An Antillean nighthawk bird weighs around around 1.8 oz (51 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

The males and females of the Antillean nighthawk species are not referred to by specific names, but being birds, they are called cocks and hens respectively.

What would you call a baby Antillean nighthawk?

A baby Antillean nighthawk is called a chick.

What do they eat?

Antillean nighthawks mostly eat insects, including moths and beetles. They forage mostly at dawn and dusk. They face predatory threats from species like crows, owls, ravens, American kestrels, snakes, skunks, coyotes, housecats, domestic dogs, and foxes.

Are they poisonous?

No, Antillean nighthawks are not poisonous.

Would they make a good pet?

Antillean nighthawks would not make good pets. They are a wild, migratory species of birds and should be left to their habitat.

Did you know...

Seeing a night hawk implies high awareness, persistence, and diligence. There is also an old superstition that nighthawks drank the blood from goats with their large mouths.

Common nighthawks, close relatives of the Antillean nighthawk species, are 8.7-9.8 in (22-25 cm) and have a wingspan of 23 in (58.4 cm).

The common nighthawk and the Antillean nighthawk were once the same species, known as the common nighthawk. However, some differences led to their separation.

The Antillean nighthawk calls, songs, and voices are different. The Antillean nighthawk has buffier underparts and pale contrasting tertials on the back wings. Common nighthawk birds are spread all over North America, and Antillean nighthawks are only summer visitors to southern Florida and the Florida Keys and are rarely seen in other parts of North America.

Where are nighthawks found?

Nighthawks are endemic to the two American continents. The nighthawk family of birds is most abundant in northern and central South America in a range of different places like Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, the Guayanas, and Peru.

Some are native to the Caribbean Islands, some to the Central American countries, some to parts of North America like southern Florida and the Florida Keys, and some to the entirety of North America.

Do nighthawks hunt at night?

Yes, nighthawks hunt mostly at night, mostly on insects. They are sometimes seen foraging in the daytime as well. They are agile fliers and catch their prey while flying, mostly at dawn and dusk.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our black cuckoo surprising facts and red owl fun facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Antillean nighthawk coloring pages.