Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)

OTHER NAMES: Bulbat
Latin Etymology: Chordeiles ("evening dance") minor ("small")

Adult Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) at Fort Peck, Montana - July 2024

Featured Subspecies: Chordeiles minor hespersis
Weight: g/kg  /  Length: 22-25cm  /  Wingspan: 51-61cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A widespread bird of North and Central America, the Common Nighthawk is seemingly a much less secretive species than other caprimulgiformes I've encountered, hawking conspicuously overhead on several nights of our trip. In their hunting they behave like large swifts, hawking for insects over bodies of water, but unlike swifts will perch up on a branch periodically with their cryptic coloration to camoflage them.

Related Species:
Order: Caprimulgiformes
Family: Caprimulgidae
Genus: Chordeiles
SUBSPECIES: C. m. panamensis, C. m. neotropicalis, C. m. howelli, C. m. hespersis, C. m. aserriensis, C. m. chapmani, C. m. sennetti, C. m. henryi, C. m. minor

 - Sighting Locations -

CANADA - Widely distributed Summer migrant.
  - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: - Seen at Writing-on-Stone

UNITED STATES - Widely distributed Summer migrant.

 - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: : Seen at Fort Peck

 Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

OTHER NAMES: Southern Waxwing, Canada Robimn, cedar Bird, Cherry Bird, Recellet
Latin Etymology: Bombycilla ("silk tail") cedrorum ("of cedars")

 

Adult Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) at Writing--on-stone, Alberta, Canada - July 2024

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: g/kg  /  Length: 15-16cm  /  Wingspan: 22-30cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The most common Waxwing species of North America, the Cedar Waxwing lacks some of the intense flashes of colour of it's more circumpolar Bohemian counterpart, but in exchange has a lemon yellow underside. They are found at various times of the year across from Canada down to the North West of South America. They are frequently numerous, often being one of the more common species at some sites.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Bombycillidae
Genus: Bombycilla
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

CANADA - A common breeding species in the Southern Provinces
  - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: - Seen throughout much of the trip.

UNITED STATES 
Breeds in Northerly parts of the Lower 48, Winters in lower parts.
 - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: : Seen throughout much of the trip. 

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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