Avise's Birds of the World

Common Nighthawk
Chordeiles minor

Native Range: North America and Middle America

Notes: tiny bill, yet huge gaping mouth surrounded by bristles helps this bird capture insects on the wing; crepescular (most active at dawn and dusk); bounding, graceful flight; sometimes dives steeply before pulling out at the bottom of the dive, creating a boom sound like a parachute opening; highly cryptic when roosting on a tree branch or rooftop.