Appearance
Average adult size is 9 ½ inches. They are a mottled brown or dark grey with white patches on the throat, wings and tail. The main difference between the male and the female is the females throat patch is more a buff color and her tail band is not so prominent. The tail of the Common Nighthawk is long, narrow and forked, more deeply forked in the male than in the female. The wings are long and pointed with the wing patch visible in flight. | 
Common Nighthawk |
Food
The Common Nighthawk eats insects that it catches with swooping dives while flying. They generally forage at dusk or at night. This is where the name comes from, though it also will fly during the day. While not actually a hawk, it is a member of the family called "Nightjars", it does "hawk", which means that it captures its food while it is flying. They can eat an incredible amount of insects--one examined having had more than 500 mosquitios in its stomach and another almost 2200 flying ants.
Habits and Breeding
Their prefered living areas are open or semi-open areas, but they can be found in towns and cities. They are generally seen at night, but are not strictly nocturnal.
During the breeding season, the male will perform dives and displays over his chosen area to attract a mate. The nest is built on gravel or rocky areas, with the gravel roofs of buildings being a favorite spot. The female lays and incubates 2 speckeled cream to buffy-olive colored eggs for 19 days.
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Audubon Handbook: Eastern Birds, Birds of North America and Reader's Digest Wildlife of North America.
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