#1108 · 🐦 birds
Common Nighthawk
🇳🇱 Amerikaanse Nachtzwaluw ·Chordeiles minor
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Mike Stewart · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Greg Lasley · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Steven Mlodinow · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. © jbpeters · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. © jbpeters · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. © Greg Lasley · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. © James Bailey · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. © Pete Diamond · CC BY 4.0
- 9. © Greg Lasley · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. © Gavin Schaefer · CC BY 4.0
what is it?
The common nighthawk ( Chordeiles minor ) is a medium-sized crepuscular or nocturnal bird within the nightjar family, whose presence and identity are best revealed by its vocalization. Typically dark (grey, black and brown), displaying cryptic colouration and intricate patterns, this bird is difficult to spot with the naked eye during the day. Once aerial, with its buoyant but erratic flight, this bird is most conspicuous.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 20,641 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Weighs only about 79 g.
- Scientifically named by Johann Reinhold Forster in 1771 (255 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Common Nighthawk
- Nederlands
- Amerikaanse Nachtzwaluw
- scientific name
- Chordeiles minor
- class
- Aves
- order
- Caprimulgiformes
- family
- Caprimulgidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings in Europe
- 10
- sightings worldwide
- 20,641
- GBIF records in NL
- 1
- weight
- 79.3 g
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1771 by Johann Reinhold Forster
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Caprimulgidae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 19577, Wikidata Q943329, GBIF 2497035, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.