Are these Common or Lesser Nighthawks? (1 Viewer)

I recently photographed these two birds on the coast of El Salvador and I want to try and identify them. I have been trying to use the field guides, but some of the features of the birds in the photos do not seem to fall neatly within any one species. Lesser Nighthawk is common in the area but there are almost no records of Common Nighthawks migrating through the country, though one would expect there to be more.

The main feature to look for seems to be the shape and position of the white wing flash. Howell and Webb (Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America) say that the border of the white band is often strongly staggered and is sharply toothed. In both photos the white markings seem to be staggered and toothed, as shown in the plate in their book. They also say that the white flash falls short of, or even with, the tips of the tertials. This is a feature that is less obvious to see, because in one it is partially covered over and may extend further towards the tip than can be seen, and in the other it is near to, but not quite reaching, the tertial tips. After comparing my photos with Howell and Webb I was convinced that they were both Common Nighthawk. However, I then checked a photo in ‘The Audubon Society Master Guide to Birding’ which shows a Common Nighthawk with a white flash that is much further from the tip of the tertials than in either of my photos, which made me doubt my previous identification. Unfortunately, the photo of Lesser Nighthawk in this book does not show this feature. The plates in Sibley show the wing flash of Lesser Nighthawk to overlap the tip of the tertials (ie a bit further out than the birds in my photos) and Common Nighthawk to be much closer in towards the body.

In common, the wingtips are also supposed to project beyond the tail tip when it is sitting. In my photos there seems to be a slight projection, but not as much as is shown in some of these books.

If anyone has any experience with these two species I would really appreciate some help.
Thanks
Tom

Pity we do not have a shot of them in flight!

bob parsons said:

Pity we do not have a shot of them in flight!

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Give him a chance he's only just learned to focus it !

Hi Tom,
Not seen any Nighthawks on the deck so cant really comment much there, however I had a look in Sibley for you on a hunch with regards to the wing lengh in relation to the tail.
common Nighthawk seems to have considerablly longer wings(or a shorter tail) than Lesser Nighthawk which has the wing showing flush(or just short) with the tip of the tail.
I also noticed plumage tones and in particular the buff tips to the coverts and scapulars seem to fit well with female Lesser.
Hope this is of help mate,spoke to Chris lately he's doing well.
See ya Calum

Tom,
If the only possibilities are Common or Lesser, then looks like a lesser to me. I've been able to see plenty of them landed like this so it is a common view for me. Only thing I can't rule out, is if you have other possibilities in Salvador (such as Antillean).

Hi All
Thanks for all the comments. It seems that they are probably Lesser Nighthawks, which suggests that the position of the white patch is more important as an ID feature than the actual shape of the white patch. This will help me a lot in future identification of this species. Antillean Nighthawk has turned up in neighbouring Honduras, so it is not a complete impossibility, but it is very unlikely indeed as we are on the opposite coast from the Caribbean.
Tom

Birdspotter said:

spoke to Chris lately he's doing well.
See ya Calum

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Hi Calum
Was it Chris Maguigan or Chris Macinerny that you saw recently? Either way, when you next see them pass on my regards.
Tom

Tom,
Steve Gross (BF member) has a good shot of a perched Common Nighthawk. They printed it in the Aug issue of Birder's World but cropped it a good bit. Might PM him and ask him to compare your photos.