The least nighthawk (''Chordeiles pusillus'') is a species of

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk tal ...

in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, Bolivia,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Guyana, Suriname, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved August 24, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

Early in the 20th century the least nighthawk was assigned to its own genus, ''Nannochordeiles'', but since the middle of the century has been included in ''Chordeiles''.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 August 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved August 24, 2021 It has these six subspecies: *''C. p. septentrionalis'' - Hellmayr (1908) *''C. p. esmeraldae'' - Zimmer &

Phelps Phelps may refer to: Places in the United States * Phelps, Kentucky * Phelps, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Phelps, New York ** Phelps (village), New York * Phelps, Wisconsin, a town ** Phelps (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated co ...

(1947) *''C. p. xerophilus'' - Dickerman (1988) *''C. p. novaesi'' - Dickerman (1988) *''C. p. saturatus'' -

Pinto Pinto is a Portuguese language, Portuguese, Spanish language, Spanish, Sephardi Jews, Jewish (Sephardic), and Italian language, Italian surname. It is a high-frequency surname in all List of countries and territories where Portuguese is an officia ...

& Camargo (1957) *''C. p. pucillis'' -

Gould Gould may refer to: People * Gould (name), a surname Places United States * Gould, Arkansas, a city * Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community * Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Gould, Oklahoma, a town * Gould, West Virginia, a ...

(1861) Two specimens from northeastern Argentina might represent a seventh subspecies.Hellmich, D. (2020). Least Nighthawk (''Chordeiles pusillus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.leanig1.01 retrieved October 3, 2021

Description

The least nighthawk is long, making it one of the smallest species in family Caprimulgidae. Two females weighed The general plumage pattern is brown upperparts with gray, rufous, and buff spots, and whitish or buff underparts with brown bars. The throat has a narrow white patch or small white patches on either side of it. The four outermost

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

have a white band that is highly visible in flight. Males also have white tips on some other wing feathers. The subspecies vary in size, colors, and the extent of the barring on the underparts.

Distribution and habitat

The six subspecies of least nighthawk are distributed thus. The subspecies of the two records in Argentina has not been determined. *''C. p. septentrionalis'', eastern Colombia through northern Venezuela and Guyana into western Suriname and northern Brazil *''C. p. esmeraldae'', southeastern Colombia, southern Venezuela, and extreme northwestern Brazil *''C. p. xerophilus'', Paraíba and

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...

states in extreme northeastern Brazil *''C. p. novaesi'',

Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...

and Piauí states in northeastern Brazil *''C. p. saturatus'', southeastern Amazonas, southwestern

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...

, and western Mato Grosso states in west-central Brazil and extreme eastern Bolivia. *''C. p. pucillis'',

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 20 ...

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

, and

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goi ...

states in eastern Brazil The least nighthawk typically inhabits open savanna or subtropical grassland, both ''

cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...

'' and ''

caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...

''. In elevation it ranges from sea level up to about .

Behavior

Movement

Some populations of least nighthawk appear to be migratory but the data are inconclusive.

Feeding

The least nighthawk is an aerial insectivore, taking prey of many insect orders. It hunts at dawn and late in dusk and tends to stay near the ground. It hunts in solitary, in pairs, or in small loose groups. Its flight has been described as "buoyant, quick, and erratic with many sudden shifts in direction".

Breeding

Very little is known about the least nighthawk's breeding phenology. Its nesting season appears to vary within its range. It lays one egg directly on the ground.

Vocalization

The least nighthawk's flight call has been variously described as "a low ''churr'' and a weak nasal ''beep'' or ''week''" and as "a short, sharp ''whit'' or ''bit''". It sings from the ground or a bush, "a fast ''cur-cur-cur-curry'' (or ''chu-chu-chu-chu-chuEE'').

Status

The IUCN has assessed the least nighthawk as being of Least Concern. It has a wide distribution, its population is thought to be stable, and no threats have been identified.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1263110

least nighthawk The least nighthawk (''Chordeiles pusillus'') is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramu ...

Birds of Brazil Birds of Colombia Birds of Venezuela

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot