Nesting nocturnal birds

When people think of nocturnal birds, owls are usually the first, and often the only thing that comes to mind. In addition to owls, birds from the family Caprimulgidae add their voices to the already interesting suite of night time sounds. There are two species that breed in the Florida panhandle.




Female Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) and eggs
This video shows the rapid throat movements (gular fluttering) in the nighthawk's throat that help her stay relatively cool in the heat of the day while incubating her eggs. Lesser nighthawks (Chordeiles acutipennis) have apparently been observed sustaining this thermoregulatory behavior for eight hours a day on very hot days!





Female Chuck-will's-widow (Caprimulgus carolinensis) and eggs


Chuck-will's-widow doing broken wing display and gaping when I approached her eggs