Editing Nighthawk (section)

== Behavior ==
Nighthawks are generally solitary but form flocks for the purpose of migration and for elaborate mating displays.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Common Nighthawk Range Map, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Nighthawk/maps-range |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=www.allaboutbirds.org |language=en}}</ref> These displays begin with the males diving from high in the air to produce the booming noises also associated with defense.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=BioKIDS - Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species, Chordeiles minor, common nighthawk: INFORMATION |url=https://biokids.umich.edu/critters/Chordeiles_minor/ |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=biokids.umich.edu}}</ref> This process is followed by tail-shaking, the exposing of a white patch located on the throat of the male, and vocalizations similar to croaks.<ref name=":6" /> Although it is unclear whether nighthawks mate for life, they are monogamous for the duration of mating season in which they develop a barren nest on the ground or another flat surface, such as an urban roof, where the female lays two patterned eggs directly onto bare ground.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Armstrong |first=Joseph T. |date=September 1965 |title=Breeding Home Range in the Nighthawk and Other Birds: Its Evolutionary and Ecological Significance |url=https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2307/1935001 |journal=Ecology |language=en |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=619–629 |doi=10.2307/1935001 |jstor=1935001 |bibcode=1965Ecol...46..619A |issn=0012-9658|url-access=subscription }}</ref> These eggs incubate for 18 to 20 days between May and August and they emerge semi-precocial, meaning they have their eyes open and a layer of down.<ref name=":6" /> Males will defend the nesting area, demonstrating indiscriminate aggression with displays involving diving and the production of a booming noise using their wings which deters predators and others of the same species.<ref name=":0" /> This unselective hostility can result in a decline in the average proportion of breeding individuals in a population in densely occupied territories, even below that of the carrying capacity established by available resources.<ref name=":0" /> This means that prey availability is not commonly cited as a concern for the conservation of nighthawks, but rather that habitat loss can be damaging to population stability.<ref name=":0" /> Nighthawks are mostly active in the late evening and early morning or at night and feed on moths and other large flying insects by holding their beak open in flight.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Todd |first1=Danielle |last2=Poulin |first2=Ray |last3=Brigham |first3=Mark |date=January 1998 |title=Diet of Common Nighthawks (Chordeiles minor: Caprimulgidae) Relative to Prey Abundance |url=https://bioone.org/journals/the-american-midland-naturalist/volume-139/issue-1/0003-0031_1998_139_0020_DOCNCM_2.0.CO_2/Diet-of-Common-Nighthawks-Chordeiles-minor--Caprimulgidae-Relative-to/10.1674/0003-0031(1998)139[0020:DOCNCM]2.0.CO;2.full |journal=The American Midland Naturalist |volume=139|page=20 |doi=10.1674/0003-0031(1998)139[0020:DOCNCM]2.0.CO;2 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> There exists a mistaken belief that members of the Caprimulgidae family suck milk from goats (the [[Latin]] for goatsucker is ''Caprimulgus''), however this claim is as of yet unsubstantiated.<ref name=":1" /> Heard most often at dusk, nighthawks have been known to perform a loud, nasal call which has been described as sounding like the noise "pee-yah".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Common Nighthawk {{!}} Audubon Field Guide |url=https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/common-nighthawk |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=www.audubon.org |language=en}}</ref>