

It breeds in a wide variety of open woodland habitats, including urban areas. Nighthawks are most active at dusk and dawn, and if you see one in low light conditions, it looks like a black bird with white stripes on its wing.ĭuring the summer, the Common Nighthawk is a widespread and regular breeding bird throughout North America, but it is a strict migratory species, and spends the winter in South America. The bright white bars on their wings are very conspicuous during flight, and this is a great feature for identifying them. (Recording source: Peter Ward and Ken Hall, XC613899, The Common Nighthawk is a member of the nightjar family that is dark brown with white comma-shaped markings on its wings. They also eat berries such as wild grapes and elderberries.

The diet of this bird consists of small insects, such as moths, beetles, ants, and grasshoppers. They can usually be found in dense areas such as thickets, bramble bushes, shrubs, and along streams. They have an olive-green back and a bright yellow breast, a gray face, and a distinct white eyebrow stripe. These yellow birds are between the size of a sparrow and a robin. Yellow-breasted Chats are common summer visitors and breeding birds throughout the United States, where they occur from May through August. Similar to Northern Mockingbirds, these birds chirp at night in order to attract mates. Webster, XC766370, The Yellow-breasted Chat is another songbird that makes noise at night. It prefers wooded areas as well as urban habitats with sufficient tree growth, such as parks and golf courses. This bird is the only mockingbird species found in North America. If you have one of these songsters in your neighborhood, you’ll hear them every night. The Northern Mockingbird is a common backyard bird and year-round resident throughout the United States and southern Canada. (Recording source: Sue Riffe, XC664292, The melodious whistling song of the Northern Mockingbird can be heard on moonlit nights in many parts of North America.Īnd while the Northern Mockingbird is also active during the day, young males sing most actively during the night between midnight and 4 AM. What night bird sounds can be heard in North America?īelow are the nighttime sounds and calls of 17 types of nocturnal birds in North America, which fall into four main categories: songbirds, nightjars, herons, and owls. To help you identify the bird you heard, we’ll cover the most common night bird sounds of North America in this article. Identifying nocturnal birds by their sound is not as easy as it might seem, as there are many night birds in North America.Īnd since it’s hard to get a good look at these birds in the dark, all you have to go on is the noise they make. Did you recently hear the sound of a night bird, and want to know what species it was?
