Editing Nighthawk (section)

==Taxonomy and systematics==
Species in the family Caprimulgidae exhibit similarities in [[plumage]] appearance, a fact that some attribute to [[convergent evolution]], which occurs when species that do not share an evolutionary history develop similar adaptations, while others attribute it to [[Parallel evolution|parallelism]] which is the process by which similar adaptations arise in members of closely related species or populations.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Han |first1=Kin-Lan |last2=Robbins |first2=Mark B. |last3=Braun |first3=Michael J. |date=2010-05-01 |title=A multi-gene estimate of phylogeny in the nightjars and nighthawks (Caprimulgidae) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790310000254 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=443–453 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.023 |pmid=20123032 |bibcode=2010MolPE..55..443H |issn=1055-7903|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Because of this, taxonomists in the past experienced difficulty in categorizing members of this group, however new advancements in molecular phylogeny have allowed for more conclusive classification.<ref name=":4" /> Thanks to these techniques, it is now understood that there are nine genera in the family, not 16 as previously accepted, and that there are two main subfamilies: Caprimulginae (nightjars) and Chordeilinae which is the subfamily that nighthawks belong to.<ref name=":4" /> Because of this taxonomic complexity, a lot of information regarding nightjars is conflated with information regarding nighthawks. Nighthawks are similar in most respects to the nightjars, but have shorter bills and plumage that is less soft. Nighthawks are less strictly nocturnal than many nightjars and may be seen hunting when there is still light in the sky.<ref name=":4" />

=== Types of Nighthawks ===
The subfamily Chordeilinae contains four genera and ten species.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=taxonomy |title=Taxonomy browser (Chordeilinae) |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Tree&id=48287&lvl=3&lin=f&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov}}</ref> Under the genus ''Chordeiles'' exists the greatest number of diversity in species in the subfamily with the lesser nighthawk (''Chordeiles acutipennis''), the Antillean nighthawk (''Chordeiles gundlachii''), the common nighthawk (''Chordeiles minor''), the nacunda nighthawk (''Chordeiles nacunda''), the least nighthawk (''Chordeiles pusillus''), and the sand-colored nighthawk (''Chordeiles rupestris'') comprising the category.<ref name=":2" /> The genus ''Lurocalis'' contains the chestnut-banded nighthawk (''Lurocalis nattereri''), the Rufous-bellied nighthawk (''Lurocalis rufiventris''), and the short-tailed nighthawk (''Lurocalis semitorquatus'').<ref name=":2" /> There is only one species in the monotypic genus ''Nyctiprogne''  which is the band-tailed nighthawk (''Nyctiprogne leucopyga''), a small bird differentiated from other nighthawks by its long tail and dark appearance.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yoon |first=Hyun Seok |date=2020 |title=Band-tailed Nighthawk (Nyctiprogne leucopyga), version 1.0 |url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/batnig1/cur/introduction |journal=Birds of the World |language=en |doi=10.2173/bow.batnig1.01 |issn=2771-3105|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!Image
!Genus
!Living species
|-
|[[File:Nyctiprogne_leucopyga_Band-tailed_Nighthawk;_Arari,_Maranhão,_Brazil.jpg|thumb]]
|''[[Nyctiprogne]]'' <small>[[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1857</small>
|
* [[Band-tailed nighthawk]], ''Nyctiprogne leucopyga''
* [[Plain-tailed nighthawk]], ''Nyctiprogne vielliardi''
|-
|[[File:Rufous-bellied_Nighthawk.jpg|thumb]]
|''[[Lurocalis]]'' <small>[[John Cassin|Cassin]], 1851</small>
|
* [[Rufous-bellied nighthawk]] ''Lurocalis rufiventris''
* [[Short-tailed nighthawk]], ''Lurocalis semitorquatus''
* [[Chestnut-banded Nighthawk|Chestnut-banded nighthawk]], ''Lurocalis nattereri''
|-
|[[File:Common_Nighthawk.JPG|thumb]]
|''[[Chordeiles]]'' <small>[[William Swainson|Swainson]], 1832</small>
|
* [[Nacunda nighthawk]], ''Chordeiles nacunda''
* [[Antillean nighthawk]], ''Chordeiles gundlachii''
* [[Lesser nighthawk]], ''Chordeiles acutipennis''
* [[Common nighthawk]], ''Chordeiles minor''
* [[Least nighthawk]], ''Chordeiles pusillus''
* [[Sand-colored nighthawk]], ''Chordeiles rupestris''
|}