Nighthawks eat many insects that can be harmful to agricultural crops.
Nighthawks are not hawks but rather belong to the nightjar family and are found all over the United States. Nighthawks' dietary habits are of great help to farmers as they eat insects that can be harmful to crops. The prolific eaters are useful at pest control.
Identifying Nighthawks
The nighthawk is a small migratory bird known for its aerial acrobatics and white markings. The birds usually have brown, black and gray feathers mixed with a distinct white band across each wing. Males have an additional crescent-shaped white bar on the throat. The flight pattern of the nighthawk is often erratic. It darts vertically and changes direction frequently at fast speeds. They are sometimes mistaken for bats because of their flight movements.
Diet
Nighthawks eat flying insects of all kinds. The birds usually forage in the late afternoon until dusk and sometimes at night near lampposts where insects congregate. Nighthawks' diet includes but is not limited to flying ants, beetles, cicadas, planthoppers, crickets, grasshoppers, mosquitoes, flies, locust and moths. The nighthawk is not picky at all about the kind of insects it eats and flies close to the ground, over water, above fields and anywhere else it is likely to find insects. The nighthawk hunts down its prey individually.
Habitat
The nighthawk does not build a nest but rather perches on branches, rooftops, power lines and even on the ground. Nighthawks are found across North America in both cities and agricultural areas. The birds migrate to South America for the winter. They leave North America in September or October and return to breed in June. Nighthawks migrate in large groups in the tens of thousands, sometimes flying low and always feeding along the way.
Breeding
Nighthawk males are known for their noisy courtship rituals in which they dive quickly and open their wings to make a loud boom sound. The birds lay their eggs on the ground in rocky and gravelly areas. They nest on sandy or gravel riverbanks and beaches or even in cities on gravel-covered rooftops. The female incubates the eggs for 20 days before they are hatched. Both parents feed the chicks by regurgitating insects, and the chicks are fully grown and self-reliant at one month old.
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