Common Nighthawk

“Nighthawk” sounds to me like Marvel’s latest super-villain, but (you guessed it) it’s actually a species of bird in the nightjar family. They do, however, share many traits with fictional villains, including an exaggerated arrogant set of the beak (or nose, as the case may be) and the desire to skulk around at twilight. But their cousins, the whip-poor-wills, sing out their names in the dead of night, so at least nighthawks don’t advocate for the abuse of children.

Common Nighthawks prefer to hunt at dawn and dusk rather than the dead of night, and are sometimes seen out in the middle of the day. Their beaks seem small in profile, but they can open their mouths almost as wide as their head. This strange super-power helps them to funnel flying insects into their mouths, as nightjars feed entirely on insects throughout the year. Depending on their location, nighthawks will eat anything from flying ants to mosquitoes, and after experiencing a summer in Canada’s boreal forest anyone who eats mosquitoes is a superhero to me.

This species can be found in the summer in a few locations in the Lower Mainland, including Iona Island. They choose to nest anywhere where they might best camouflage, including beaches, burnovers, and gravel rooftops. They’ve recently left Canada for greener (i.e. more insect-infested) pastures in South America. I saw this bird in Saskatchewan’s Grasslands National Park on August 11. 

Unfortunately, Common Nighthawks are now listed as Threatened under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, possibly due to the overuse of insecticides causing an overall decrease in their food source.