Common Nighthawk Nesting

The common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) has a misleading name, since the bird is neither a hawk, nor solely nocturnal. The common nighthawk has a great appetite for insects, with adults able to capture and eat as many as 500 mosquitoes in a single day, says the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region." The nesting habits of the common nighthawk are unusual in that the bird does not build a traditional nest.

  1. No Nest

    • The female common nighthawk chooses the site where it lays her eggs, but she does not construct a nest. Instead, the female simply looks for a gravelly location or one that has some vegetation. She lays her eggs on the ground, depending on their color to blend in and make them undetectable to potential predators.

    Rooftop Locations

    • Nighthawks are not averse to nesting in urban areas, making good use of flat-topped structures with gravelly coatings, such as hospitals and schools. The birds find that the artificial lighting often provided in such locations draw insects to them, making it easier for them to find a meal. The birds do not create unsightly messes, akin to the droppings that species such as pigeons leave. Since they require no building materials for a nest, there are no twigs, sticks, grass or mud strewn about, notes the New Hampshire Audubon Society. This practice - laying eggs on rooftops - occurred as early as 1915.

    Eggs and Young

    • A clutch of nighthawk eggs number between one and three, states New Hampshire Public Television Nature Works. The eggs are olive gray to cream in color, covered with a myriad of fine speckles that help them blend into the landscape. The average incubation period lasts approximately 19 days. The young are able to fly on their own after about 23 days; in the meantime, the parents bring them back the insects they manage to catch.

    Defending the Eggs and Young

    • Nighthawks typically do not defend their nest via aerial attacks, choosing rather to rely on the camouflage of the eggs and their young chicks to fool an enemy. When danger approaches, the mother freezes and remains quite still, hoping to go unnoticed. If the threat gets too close, a nighthawk will feign having a broken wing and scurry away, in an attempt to draw the predator from its eggs or young. When it closes in, she flies away.