Night Hawk

Description
10". .23". Jay-sized; usually seen in flight. Dark with long pointed wings and white patch on outer wings; square-tipped or slightly notched tail. Flight high and fluttery. Perches motionless and lengthwise on branches. Male has white throat patch and white subterminal tail bar. Female has buffy throat patch and no tail bar.
Voice
Loud, nasal, buzzy peent or pee-yah, heard primarily at dusk.
Habitat
Open country generally; also cities and towns.
Nesting
2 creamy or olive-gray, finely and densely speckled eggs, laid on soil, rocks, logs, or rooftop gravel.
Other
This bird's name is somewhat inappropriate, since it is not strictly nocturnal, often flying in sunlight, and it is not a hawk, although it does hawk, catching flying insects on the wing. On its breeding grounds, the male does a power dive and then, as it swerves upward, makes a booming sound with its wings. Its capacity to consume insects is prodigious. Analysis of stomach contents has shown that in a single day one bird captured more then 500 mosquitoes and another ate 2,175 flying ants.
Picture
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