Common name: Common Nighthawk
Scientific name: Chordeiles minor (Forster, 1771)

Class:
Aves (Birds)
Order:
Caprimulgiformes (Nightbirds)
Family:
Caprimulgidae (Nighthawks, Nightjars, and Goatsuckers)
Synonyms:
Other common names:

Habitat type(s):
Habitat description(s)
Lacustrine:
Aerial
Palustrine:
Aerial
Riverine:
Aerial
Terrestrial:
Savanna, Grassland/herbaceous, Old field, Cropland/hedgerow, Suburban/orchard, Woodland - Conifer, Shrubland/chaparral

Ecological systems and subsytems (about):
TERRESTRIAL - TERRESTRIAL CULTURAL:
Brushy cleared land*
A former forest, woodland, or shrubland that has been clearcut or cleared by brush-hog. The cut stumps of trees and shrubs are evident and usually common. There may be a lot of woody debris such as branches and slashings from trees that were logged. Vegetation is patchy, with scattered herbs, shrubs, and tree saplings.
TERRESTRIAL - TERRESTRIAL CULTURAL:
Cropland/field crops*
An agricultural field planted in field crops such as alfalfa, wheat, timothy, and oats. This community includes hayfields that are rotated to pasture.
TERRESTRIAL - BARRENS AND WOODLANDS:
Dwarf pine plains (guide)
A woodland community dominated by dwarf individuals of pitch pine and scrub oak that occurs on nearly level outwash sand and gravel plains in eastern Long Island. The soils are infertile, coarse textured sands that are excessively well-drained.
TERRESTRIAL - OPEN UPLANDS:
Maritime dunes* (guide)
A community dominated by grasses and low shrubs that occurs on active and stabilized dunes along the Atlantic coast. The composition and structure of the vegetation is variable depending on stability of the dunes, amounts of sand deposition and erosion, and distance from the ocean.
TERRESTRIAL - OPEN UPLANDS:
Maritime shrubland* (guide)
A shrubland community that occurs on dry seaside bluffs and headlands that are exposed to offshore winds and salt spray.
TERRESTRIAL - BARRENS AND WOODLANDS:
Oak openings* (guide)
A grass-savanna community that occurs on well-drained soils. In New York, these savannas originally occurred as openings within extensive oak-hickory forests. The best remnants occur on dolomite knobs.
PALUSTRINE - OPEN MINERAL SOIL WETLANDS:
Pine barrens shrub swamp* (guide)
A shrub-dominated wetland that occurs in shallow depressions in the coastal plain, often as the transition zone between a coastal plain pond shore and either pitch pine-scrub oak barrens or pitch pine-oak forest.
TERRESTRIAL - BARRENS AND WOODLANDS:
Pitch pine-scrub oak barrens (guide)
A shrub-savanna community that occurs on well-drained, sandy soils that have developed on sand dunes, glacial till, and outwash plains.
TERRESTRIAL - BARRENS AND WOODLANDS:
Post oak-blackjack oak barrens (guide)
Open barrens on upper slopes and low ridges characterized by the presence of stunted individuals of post oak, scarlet oak, and blackjack oak. There is a sparse heath and grass ground cover growing in very dry, deep, exposed sand overlying a clay subsoil.
TERRESTRIAL - OPEN UPLANDS:
Successional old field*
A meadow dominated by forbs and grasses that occurs on sites that have been cleared and plowed (for farming or development), and then abandoned or only occasionally mowed.
TERRESTRIAL - TERRESTRIAL CULTURAL:
Urban structure exterior
The exterior surfaces of metal, wood, or concrete structures (such as commercial buildings, apartment buildings, houses, bridges) or any structural surface composed of inorganic materials (glass, plastics, etc.) in an urban or densely populated suburban area. These sites may be sparsely vegetated with lichens, mosses, and terrestrial algae; occasionally vascular plants may grow in cracks.

* probable association but not confirmed.


Conservation:
Global conservation status rank:
G5
Secure globally - Common in the world; widespread and abundant (but may be rare in some parts of its range).
State conservation status rank:
S2S3B
Imperiled or Vulnerable in New York - Very vulnerable, or vulnerable, to disappearing from New York, due to rarity or other factors; typically 6 to 80 populations or locations in New York, few individuals, restricted range, few remaining acres (or miles of stream), and/or recent and widespread declines. More information is needed to assign either S2 or S3. (A migratory animal which occurs in New York only during the breeding season.)
Federal protection:
Not Listed
State protection:
Special Concern
Listed as Special Concern by New York State: at risk of becoming Threatened; not listed as Endangered or Threatened, but concern exists for its continued welfare in New York; NYS DEC may promulgate regulations as to the taking, importation, transportation, or possession as it deems necessary.
SGCN:
NYNHP track status:
Y: Track all extant and selected historical EOs

More information:
Conservation guide:
https://guides.nynhp.org/common-nighthawk/
NatureServe explorer link:
https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102646/Chordeiles_minor/