Well camouflaged when on the ground, look for them on the fence rails of the horse corral by the IVC campus warehouse.
A spring, summer and fall visitor to the Imperial
Valley.
|
Also called a "goatsucker" or "nightjar" -
the Nighthawk spends the day resting on a perch or nesting on the ground;
during the late afternoon it begins to swoop like a slow swallow while
catching flying insects with its wide mouth.
Well camouflaged when on the ground, look for them on the fence rails of the horse corral by the IVC campus warehouse. A spring, summer and fall visitor to the Imperial
Valley.
|
If you are interested in learning more about this bird online - I recommend you start with the Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/infocenter.htmlThey present photographs, songs, identification tips, maps, and life history information for North American birds - including the Lesser Nighthawk
OTHER OUTSIDE LINKS FOR THIS BIRD:
Lesser Nighthawk - San Diego County "Bird Atlas: Focus" page from the San Diego Natural History Museum.
Nightjars & Allies - The family Caprimulgidae has 86 species around the world; images of six of them are displayed along with notes on more by Don Roberson. His Web work include the sites for "Bird Families of the World", "Birding the World", and "Monterey Bay".
The following "WAV" format sound file is copyright protected by Doug Van Gausig of Sedona, Arizona, as part of the "Sounds of Nature" Web site:
- http://www.naturesongs.com/leni2.wav - Lesser Nighthawk sound
This site is maintained by:
Eldon R. Caldwell
Imperial Valley College
Email: eldonc@imperial.cc.ca.us